Like most churches in Madison, Virginia, The Flock is preparing to celebrate Christmas. And at The Flock, we also celebrate Advent, during which time we light candles and read scriptures that express both our joy at Christ’s arrival, even as we long for his return. Advent and Christmas are not the same holiday — though they are closely related. What’s the difference between Christmas and Advent, and why would a contemporary church in Madison County observe such traditions?
Is Advent the Same as Christmas?
The word “Advent” comes from the Latin adventus, which simply means “coming” or “arrival.” But does this refer to Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem, or does it refer to Jesus’ future return?
The Latin term is a translation of the Greek word Parousia, which typically refers to the second coming of Christ. Some traditions have sought to argue that Advent focuses on the return of Jesus, not his birth. But history shows us something of a patchwork quilt when it comes to specific practices. Advent is not the same as Christmas, since Christmas is only focused on the birth of Christ. And yet, church tradition reveals a balance between the celebration of Jesus’ first arrival, and the expectant hope of his second arrival.
To understand this better, let’s explore the way that the Church has historically approached the birth of Christ.
When Was Jesus Born?
Only two birthday celebrations are mentioned in the entire Bible: Pharaoh (Gen 40:2) and Herod (Mark 6:21; Matt 14:6). In fact, the early Church would only celebrate the death of martyrs—since this would be their “true” birthday as they were born into the kingdom of God.
Despite this, interest in the birth story of Jesus spread rapidly. By the second century AD, the text Protoevangelium of James operated as a “prequel” of sorts to the Nativity story. And despite its fictionalized account, it enjoyed enormous popularity and helped spark early interest in Jesus’ actual history.
During the second century, a man named Sextus Julius Africanus suggested December 25 as Jesus’ birthday, though this date wasn’t initially accepted because Sextus was regarded as a pagan. In the fourth century, a monk named Dionysius would affirm December 25 as the date of Jesus’ birth based on the Juluan calendar. The date would become universally adopted over the course of the next two centuries.
Today, most scholars agree that December 25 is a product of both speculation and miscalculation. Based on what we know of Herod’s death and the census, Jesus would have been born between 6 and 4 B.C.—though the date remains completely uncertain.
The Origins of Christmas
Christians soon became eager to celebrate Christmas on December 25, primarily as a counter-cultural response to three ancient celebrations:
- The feast day of the Unconquered Sun (Dec 25), also the winter solstice and thought to be the sun’s birthday by those who were now worshipping the sun
- Many Roman soldiers celebrated a pagan fertility deity whose birthday fell on December 25
- Saturnalia was a period (Dec 17-23) of drinking, sexual liberation, and the reversal of gender roles
Christians therefore saw an opportunity to counter or at least weaken the cultural import of these pagan celebrations, which would lead to growing acceptance in the centuries that followed.
But more importantly, Christmas would also give the Church an opportunity to address ancient teachers that tried to argue that Jesus wasn’t fully human, or that he wasn’t fully God. By the fifth century, the Nativity story began to feature more prominently in annual sermons, and these sermons may have influenced some of the Church’s most important creeds.
So, the suggestion that the early church was somehow unconcerned with Jesus’ birth and more interested in his death and second coming is simply not supported by the pages of history. In fact, by the early fifth century, church leaders were already complaining that Christmas had become “too commercialized.” In roughly 400, bishop Asterius of Amasea in Cappadochia observed the way that people were willing to go into debt in order to fund expensive gifts. Still others noted that the revelry of Saturnalia had infiltrated the Christmas season, resulting in a period of excessive eating and drinking.
Christmas had solidified its place in the early days of the Church, and the feasts of Advent and Epiphany were second only to Easter in terms of importance.
The Origins of Advent
Ok, so what about Advent? Advent as we know it today didn’t fully evolve until the late fourth and early fifth centuries. The feast of Epiphany, meant to celebrate the arrival of the wise men, had become so important that some churches insisted that it needed a longer period of preparation. By the fifth century, the church adopted a pre-Christmas period of several weeks, though it wasn’t until the sixth century that Rome began using the term Adventus.
Advent is therefore a season more than a specific holiday. Initially, it was a period of repentance and reflection, much like Lent. But soon Advent became broken in two:
- The first two Sundays focus on the second coming of Jesus
- The next two Sundays focus on the first coming of Jesus
Ryan Reeves—Associate professor of church history at Gordon-Conwell—writes:
“This double meaning in Advent history signals an important reality in the liturgical calendar: Advent and Christmas are never held as a full re-enactment of the life of Christ but point to our place between the Resurrection and Second Coming. Advent and Christmas are not merely about the coming of Jesus, but about everything since the birth of Jesus.”
The Advent wreath—and its associated candles—is an extremely recent invention, dating only to the 19th century. Still, the candles we light each year are both a celebration of Jesus’ birth, as well as a demonstration of our expectant longing for the King’s return.
Reclaiming Advent
Historically, Advent has been something of a balancing act. During the medieval period, for example, there was a stronger emphasis on the future coming of Jesus Christ. But roughly 500 years later, there was a de-emphasis on Advent, so much so that Martin Luther famously joked that Jesus might return while everyone was “drinking fine wines…and not praying a word.”
Likewise, Advent and Christmas have undergone their own evolution during America’s religious past. Thankfully, there has been a recent push toward reviving these older traditions, and reclaiming the balance between Christ’s birth and return.
In the introduction to her collection of Advent writings and sermons, the episcopalian minister Fleming Rutledge explains that Advent has deep and enduring significance:
“In a very real sense, the Christian community lives in Advent all the time. It can well be called the Time Between, because the people of God live in the time between the first coming of Christ, incognito in the stable in Bethlehem, and his second coming, in glory, to judge the living and the dead. In the Time Between, ‘our lives are hidden with Christ in God; when Christ who is our life appears, then we also will appear with him in glory’ (Col. 3:3–4). Advent contains within itself the crucial balance of the now and the not-yet that our faith requires.”
Without this balance, our spiritual lives become anemic. The “holiday season” becomes little more than fuzzy sentimentalism, excised from the broader story of glory and redemption. And reclaiming Advent may be all the more important in an era where even western culture has become overwhelmed by reports of political unrest, runaway inflation, and international conflict. Reclaiming Advent is a revolutionary act in an age where death and despair grab the biggest headlines. Instead, we are people who long for the return of the King, and who hope in his true and perfect justice.
Are There Churches Near Me Celebrating Advent?
At The Flock, we aim to reclaim Advent through our worship gatherings and messages. If you’re looking for contemporary, evangelical churches in Madison, VA, come join us at The Flock, Sundays at 10:00 AM.
