The word advent means 'coming' or
'arrival' (from Latin). The season begins with Advent Sunday, four Sundays
before Christmas and ends on Christmas Eve. Contrary to current practices at
that time of year, it is meant to be a time of reflection and penitence. It
should be a time when Christians reflect on the promised coming of the Messiah,
the Christ among them and their preparation for receiving him.
There used to be fasting on three days a week. The period also used to be longer, up to six weeks. The tradition began in around the sixth century.
Traditionally the four Sundays include the themes of 'The advent hope', 'the prophets' (sometimes including Bible Sunday), 'John the Baptist' and 'Mary the mother of Jesus'.
Commercialisation of Christmas can distract us from the true meaning of Advent. We tend to get caught up in the glitz and glamour of festively decorated shopping centres, choosing gifts, cards and wrapping paper, buying food and all the other trimmings that seem to be important these days. It is a challenge to keep in mind that the celebration of Christmas is about God’s love for us as manifested in the gift of His son, Jesus.
A crib is usually a
nativity scene in sculpture, containing at the centre a manger, or crib with a
figure of baby Jesus. It includes Mary and Joseph, the shepherds and/or kings
and perhaps an angel. The presence of some animals, a donkey, sheep or lambs, a
cow etc is often included in a stable scene. St Francis of Assisi helped to
popularise the tradition of cribs. In December 1223, in a natural cave in the
town of Greccio he prepared a straw filled manger complete with animals. There,
with those who accompanied him he celebrated Christmas. It was highly acclaimed,
including reports of miraculous healing. Re-enactments of the Christmas story
spread. In Sicily cribs, called ‘il presepe’ were made of coral, bone, mother of
pearl, alabaster and other sea materials. In Rome presepe included the local
landscape of pine and olive trees, with ancient aqueducts, while in Naples
representation of the Holy Family became a true art made by leading sculptors.
In Naples too is a monumental collection from 1700’s that includes shepherds,
angels and animals.
Christmas is the Mass of Christ: the day on which the birth of Christ is commemorated.
Magi is the name of the priesthood of the Persian (Zoroastrian) religion, used in the Vulgate – where the authorised version gives ‘wise men’. The three Magi, who came to visit Baby Jesus in the stable, brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. In later tradition, they were described as ‘kings’.
Gold is a precious metal.
Frankincense is gum collected by peeling back the bark of the frankincense – tree (Boswellia) and cutting into the trunk. The resin gives off a sweet scent when warmed or burned, and was used as incense in Bible times.
Myrrh is a pale yellow gum from a shrub, which grows in Somalia, Ethiopia and Arabia, used as a spice and a medicine and in making the holy oil for the tabernacle and temple. Myrrh was brought to Jesus by the wise men. It was mixed with the drink offered to him on the cross as a painkiller. And, Joseph and Nicodemus later embalmed Jesus’ body with myrrh and aloes.
Christingle is a service that is held during Advent, when Christians are preparing to celebrate the birth of Jesus. It is usually held by candlelight. This is because Jesus is sometimes called ‘The Light of the World’. Light and darkness are powerful symbols in Christian religions. Christingles represent different parts of the story of Jesus and His message to His followers. The congregation are each given a Christingle. A Christingle consists of:-
An Orange to represent the world
A Red Ribbon fixed around the orange represents the Blood of Jesus that was shed to save mankind
Four Cocktail Sticks decorated with different Fruits and Sweets are stuck into the orange to represent the fruits of the earth from all four corners of the earth
A Candle is placed in the centre of the orange to represent Jesus as Light of the World
The Christmas Tree is
a symbol of life. The Christmas Tree, with its decorations and lights and
shining star at the top, first appeared in Germany some three centuries ago.
When Queen Victoria married Prince Albert, they set up a Christmas Tree at
Windsor Castle. This then became fashionable. The first person to decorate a
Christmas Tree with coloured lights was Martin Luther. It is said that he first
had the idea as he walked home one night and saw the stars glinting through the
branches of a fir tree. He thought that the brightest star looked as though it
was attached to the top of the tree. His next thought was that the star could
represent the star of Bethlehem, so, when he got home, he attached a candle to
the top of his Christmas Tree to bring the Christian message of the Holy Birth.
Please see the web site at: www.christmasarchives.com/trees.html for more information about the Christmas Tree.
We all enjoy mince pies! Traditionally, they were oval in shape, to represent the manger, in which Baby Jesus was laid. Medieval cooks filled their pies with the best meat, eggs, butter and dried fruits, to represent the gifts of the Magi (Wise Men)
