What is Advent? Advent is much more than just a countdown to Christmas; it is a profound spiritual journey marking four weeks of reflection and anticipation in the Christian calendar, preparing believers both for the birth of Jesus and his promised second coming. Nov. 30, 2025, is the first Sunday of Advent.
The article emphasizes that each Sunday of Advent highlights a central theme: hope, peace, joy, and love. These themes are meant to encourage prayer, reflection, and celebration. Participants in churches, families, or individuals traditionally light candles on the Advent wreath, a circle symbolizing God’s eternal life, with each candle representing one of these themes. The culmination is Christmas Eve, when a central white candle, often called the Christ Candle, is lit, signifying Christ’s light entering the world.
There are four core themes of Advent. The first is Hope: Advent’s hope is described as courageous and rooted in God’s faithful promises, not diminished by life’s struggles but strengthened by trust in God’s character.
Next, there is Peace: The peace of Advent is not about victory or avoidance, but about embodying Jesus’s teachings, living as peacemakers, and exercising forgiveness and care toward others.
The third is Joy: Advent joy is not mere happiness, but a deep assurance of God’s presence, blessing, and healing, acknowledging that joy can be experienced even amid imperfection and pain. The third Sunday, Joy Sunday, is usually observed with the color pink or rose. Clergy wear rose colored vestments, and the day is called “Rose Sunday”.
And the fourth Advent theme is Love: The love of Advent highlights the self-giving, unconditional love shown by Jesus, encouraging believers to extend that love to both friends and enemies alike, living out God’s vision of compassion and forgiveness daily.
These four weeks before Christmas, though a brief liturgical season, unlike the season of Lent before Easter, are so important in preparing believers to celebrate Christ’s birth. Advent is not an early start to Christmas. Believers are encouraged to refrain from decorating for Christmas.
Christmas has its own season from Christmas Day to the Day of the Epiphany on Jan. 6. The Epiphany is the day on which the Eastern Christian Church (Eastern Orthodox) observes Christmas.
Advent’s message for the believers, in the CSRA and beyond, is that the season is both a call to personal and communal reflection. Traditions such as prayers, acts of giving, and special worship services, such as Advent Nine Lessons and Carols, help center the community on themes that ground faith and encourage active longing for a world renewed by Christ’s love and justice. Advent asks believers not just to wait passively, but to embody hope, peace, joy, and love in tangible ways within their homes, churches, and the wider Augusta community, making faith real as they anticipate both Christmas and Christ’s return. I hope this has helped you understand why this season of preparation is so important to many believers. While you wait, enjoy the Advent hymn, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”.
The Rev. Billy Alford is a retired Episcopalian priest who served at St. Allan’s Episcopalian Church. He currently serves as a supply pastor and faith columnist for the Augusta Press.
