Editorials
The time of joyful anticipation can begin
Advent is in December
November 24, 2009
"Advent is in December," we are rightly reminded by this campaign of the Protestant Church, although sometimes Advent does start in November-as it does this year. The first Sunday in Advent is 29 November. There are four Sundays on which to prepare for Christmas, but that has not always been the case. In the days of the Early Church, the Advent period was much longer; it started in mid-November and there were at least six Advent Sundays. The first record of our modern western European practice of celebrating four Advent Sundays dates back to the beginning of the 8th century.
From the beginning, the Advent period was a time of penance in preparation for the Christmas, the "birthday" of Jesus Christ. Nowadays that is often forgotten in the commercial blur of Christmas decorations and lights of our cities, with sentimental TV jingles wishing us a "happy pre-Christmas time". The gingerbread cookies did not used to be nearly as sweet-iced or chocolate-covered-as they are nowadays. These Advent delicacies were once eaten during periods of fasting! In the past, people were far more conscious that in Advent Christians do not just reflect on God's first coming into the world, preparing for the magnificent celebration of Christmas-at the same time, and equally importantly, they anticipated the Second Coming, the second Advent of Jesus at the end of time.
Advent as a time of penance and fasting seems a really exotic idea nowadays. But we see this in the text of some of the loveliest and most treasured Advent hymns, sometimes in their melody as well. A good example is "Mit Ernst o Menschenkinder" (Protestant hymnal EGB, No.10). The tune is plain and simple, anything but cheerful or sentimental. The text is also sober, urging us to repent. For example, the last verse is a hymn to humility: "Ein Herz das Demut liebet / bei Gott am höchsten steht / Ein Herz das Hochmut übet, mit Angst zugrunde geht; / ein Herz, das richtig ist und folget Gottes Leiten, / das kann sich recht bereiten."
The penance and fasting practice of the Early Church, which is symbolized in this hymn, seems very remote to us today. In the glittering world of our Advent or rather "pre-Christmas season," there is little room for such fits of contemplation. But it is worth remembering that the beginning of the new church year on the first Sunday of Advent is still marked by some of the topics that we reflect on (at least in Germany) at the end of the old church year-the Day of National Mourning, the Day of Prayer and Repentance, and Eternity Sunday. There are always two sides to Advent as we anticipate Christ's Second Coming at the end of time.
Is it better to shut out these reflective, serious aspects of Advent and just revel in the Christmas lights in the shops and the premature playing of "Silent Night" and "Joy to the World"? Certainly not! An overdose of pre-Christmas sentimentalism leads to dissatisfaction, stress and disappointment when Christmas finally arrives. Advent is actually a time of darkness that then suddenly, even abruptly, gives way to the heavenly light of Christmas. But if brilliant lights shine from the first Sunday of Advent, then Christmas is nothing special. That being so: let's have the courage to accept the dark and seriousness of Advent. If there is light everywhere, we do not appreciate it anymore.
The EKD's Advent portal contains special sections on Advent, after the "Stille Zeit" (quiet time). We have posted up the texts of hymns, songs, explanations of customs, book tips for Advent and Christmas and more.
If you would like to make your own personal Advent calendar you are warmly invited to visit the "Bastelwerkstatt" (link to the Advent calendar) or to subscribe to the complete virtual calendar of the Protestant Church which offers thought-provoking, evocative texts and images.