Jan 132009
![[advent wreath]](http://saints.sqpn.com/ncd00156.jpg "42kb jpg photograph of an advent wreath; taken by Clemens Pfeiffer on 4 December 2005; swiped off the Wikipedia web site")
Derivation
- Latin: adventus, coming
Article
Period of prayer and fasting in preparation for Christmas; anniversary of the Birth or Coming of Christ, including four Sundays, the first the nearest to the feast of Saint Andrew the Apostle (30 November); it may be as early as 27 November and as late as 3 December. It is the beginning of the ecclesiastical year in the Western Church. Its early history is obscure. It was observed in Spain in the 7th century. The Divine Office and the Sunday Masses are a most devout preparation for the Christmas feast. Altar drapery and vestments are violet except on third Sunday, when rose color is used, and feasts.
Additional Information
- Catholic Encyclopedia
- Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy
- Golden Legend
- Pictorial Lives of the Saints
MLA Citation
- “Advent”. New Catholic Dictionary. Saints.SQPN.com. 11 November 2010. Web. 25 May 2013. <http://saints.sqpn.com/advent/>