What is Advent? Where does the word come from
The word Advent originates in the Latin word for 'coming'. It describes the immediate period leading up to the birth of Christ. In the church calendar, this starts on the Sunday nearest to November 30 - November 28 in 2021.
Unsuprisingly, Advent culminates on Christmas Day
Church customs
Another Advent custom is that members of the congregation each look after a statuette of the baby Jesus for twenty four hours.
Carols
The singing of 'carols' originated from pagan mid-winter festivals but developed into the modern tradition during the 19th Century. Carol singing has been particularly popular in the Anglican church. This is formalised in the Service of Nine Lessons and Carols - most famously from Kings College, Cambridge.
Some Christian churches have an advent wreath with five candles. These are one for each of the four Sundays leading up to Christmas Day. The fifth wreath is for Christmas Day. There are also different readings on each of the four Sundays leading up to Christmas Day.
For most Christian denominations, Purple is the traditional colour of Advent. It is used for hangings around the church and for vestments during services.
In he Lutheran tradition, blue, representing hope, is the colour most associated withAdvent.
Second Coming
A lesser known aspect of Advent in the Catholic tradition is the association with preparing for the Second Second Coming of Christ. This features more strongly before 16 December.
Calendars
The keeping of a special calendar is the most universal tradition associated with Advent This originally relied on near universal familiarity with the story of the Nativity.
Modern commercial Advent calendars often have no religious iconography calendars. Sometimes they do not allude to the Nativity at all - a point satirised by Heath's cartoon in The Spectator.