Topic: Advent and Christmas

L'étoile de Bethléem, une aquarelle d'Edward Burne-Jones, Musée et galerie d'art de Birmingham.

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The season of Advent, which comes from the Latin word adventus meaning “coming” or “visit," begins four Sundays before Christmas and ends on Christmas Eve. Advent is the beginning of the liturgical year for Christians.

Although we are accustomed to celebrating Christmas on a single day, in both Christian tradition and on the Church calendar, the Christmas season lasts sundown on December 24 (Christmas Eve) through Epiphany of the Lord (January 6). This is sometimes popularly referred to as "the twelve days of Christmas."

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Advent

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Faith Sharing

Bishop David Alan Bard. Photo courtesy of Minnesota Conference.

Try a little kindness this holiday season

Two chance encounters led Bishop David Alan Bard to reflect on the need for kindness during the Christmas season. “ ... might our Advent be a journey into kinder hearts and a recommitment to living with greater kindness, gentleness, tenderness and love?” Bard writes.

Mission and Ministry

Evergreens are a perennial symbol of Christmas. Image by Mariya, courtesy of Pixabay.

Dreaming of a 'green' Christmas

It’s estimated that Americans increase our waste stream 25% between Thanksgiving and Christmas and Christmas is the most wasteful of all our holidays. In her “Go Green, Save Money, Save the Earth” blog, Kim Hornung-Marcy offers tips on ways to be more faithful to creation care and still celebrate the wonder and joy of the season.

Church History

The famed British carol “Good King Wenceslas” is inspired by a Christian martyr who remains an important figure in his Czech homeland. The real Wenceslas — known as Václav the Good — lived from about A.D. 907 to 929. For nearly 100 years, a large statue of him as an armed knight on horseback has stood proudly in Prague’s Wenceslas Square. It was sculpted by Josef Václav Myslbek. Photo by Ales Tosovsky, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

The real story behind ‘Good King Wenceslas’

The famed British carol about a generous king on a cold winter’s night takes inspiration from a very real Christian martyr who remains an important figure in his Czech homeland. Some United Methodists see lessons in his story for today.

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