| Advent Sunday | |
|---|---|
 An Advent wreath with the first candle lit (on the left) | |
| Observed by | Western Christianity |
| Type | Christian |
| Celebrations | Season of Advent |
| Date | Fourth Sunday before Christmas Day |
| 2023 date | 3 December |
| 2024 date | 1 December |
| 2025 date | 30 November |
| 2026 date | 29 November |
| Frequency | annual |
| Related to | Christmas Day |
Advent Sunday, also called the First Sunday of Advent or First Advent Sunday, among the Western Christian Churches, is the first day of the liturgical year and the start of the season of Advent.[1]
On the First Sunday of Advent, Christians start lighting their Advent wreaths, and praying their Advent daily devotional;[2] believers may also erect their Christmas tree or Chrismon tree,[2] light a Christingle,[3] as well as engage in other ways of preparing for Christmas, such as setting up Christmas decorations,[4][5][6] a custom that is sometimes done liturgically through a hanging of the greens ceremony.[2][7]
- ^ Oxford English Dictionary. Second edition, 1989. "Advent Sunday, the first Sunday in Advent, the Sunday nearest to the thirtieth of November."
- ^ a b c Kennedy, Rodney Wallace; Hatch, Derek C (27 August 2013). Baptists at Work in Worship. Wipf and Stock Publishers. p. 147. ISBN 978-1-62189-843-6.
There are a variety or worship practices that enable a congregation to celebrate Advent: lighting an advent wreath, a hanging of the greens service, a Chrismon tree, and an Advent devotional booklet.
- ^ Geddes, Gordon; Griffiths, Jane (2001). Christianity. Heinemann. p. 99. ISBN 978-0-435-30695-3.
Many churches hold Christingle services during Advent. Children are given a Christingle.
- ^ The Lutheran Witness. Vol. 80. Concordia Publishing House. 1961.
- ^ Michelin (10 October 2012). Germany Green Guide Michelin 2012–2013. Michelin. p. 73. ISBN 9782067182110.
Advent – The four weeks before Christmas are celebrated by counting down the days with an advent calendar, hanging up Christmas decorations and lightning an additional candle every Sunday on the four-candle advent wreath.
- ^ Normark, Helena (1997). Modern Christmas. Graphic Garden.
Christmas in Sweden starts with Advent, which is the await for the arrival of Jesus. The symbol for it is the Advent candlestick with four candles in it, and we light one more candle for each of the four Sundays before Christmas. Most people start putting up the Christmas decorations on the first of Advent.
- ^ Rice, Howard L.; Huffstutler, James C. (1 January 2001). Reformed Worship. Westminster John Knox Press. p. 197. ISBN 978-0-664-50147-1.
Another popular activity is the "Hanging of the Greens," a service in which the sanctuary is decorated for Christmas.