How long does Advent last?
I've been asked (as I often am this time of year) when Advent begins, and how long it lasts.
Advent candles, and the calendars that have bits of chocolate, always start on the 1st December and last 24 days. But that's a pretty recent development of a much older tradition.
Way back (around the 6th century) Advent
was 6 weeks long, it was shortened over time, and in the 21st century Church, Advent begins on fourth Sunday before Christmas. To find that you have to count back four Sundays from Christmas Day. So, if the 25th December falls on a Saturday, Advent will be almost four weekslong, but if Christmas Day is a Monday,
it's only just over three.
Speaking of Advent candles, every year my
son and I make an Advent candle by marking 24 notches into a tall white candle, and writing the numbers 1-24 in the segments, starting with number 1 at the top. You then burn one segment every day. Chocolate Advent Calendars are a much more recent invention, and something of an anomaly in a way, as Advent was originally a time of fasting. I doubt the fashion for fasting will catch on again any time soon, but at least you can tip your hat to tradition by munching your way through fair trade chocolate, with pictures of the Christmas story, if you buy Divine's calendars with Milk chocolate, or Dairy-free dark chocolate.
Everything else you ever wanted to know about Advent is in my book:
4 Responses to “How long does Advent last?”
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author musician theologian
Maggi has kept a blog since September 2003, writing about theology and faith, the arts and literature, and a little about life and random nonsense...
In an increasingly secularised society few people have a good working knowledge of the Bible. Yet a great deal of our culture is built on stories or ideas that come from the Bible. Literature, art, music, language and even the fabric of our society - such as our justice system - are built on Christian concepts and biblical references. The Writing on the Wall provides a fascinating introduction to the Bible's best-known, and most influential, stories. Each chapter gives some background to the text of the Bible, and shows how the stories have become enmeshed in Western culture. Adam and Eve, the ten plagues of Egypt, The Prodigal Son and Mary Magdalene all feature - along with how the Bible has influenced everyone from Shakespeare to Monty Python, and Caravaggio to Banksy. 
Giving It Up explores the Lenten idea of 'giving up', taking it beyond the traditional idea of simply abstaining from something, and suggesting instead that what we need to give up is our existing ideas about God. With a daily readings for each day of Lent, from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday, it follows the heroes of the Bible who had to give up their own too-small ideas about God.
This is Maggi’s bestselling book of daily readings for each day of Advent, Christmas and Epiphany. Advent is the beginning of the Church year, and marks the anticipation of the coming Messiah. These readings explore how beginnings and endings in our own lives are illuminated by the different Gospel narratives of Christ's coming.
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There I’ve been blogging about the Bible and should have waited for your book.
Beach Hut Advent calendars have arrived from the printers and were overwhelmingly approved by all who bought one or more yesterday. Martin was quite overcome by the fivers coming his way at a church in Rottingdean yesterday and at Beyond’s ‘Dark’ event last night. The first Beyond shop page will be going live later on this week, watch this space!
oh, save one for me!! fiver coming your way
love the notched candle idea. might rework that this Advent to add in names of 24 people and places i’d like to see blessed.
steve