The O Antiphons (also known as the Great Advent Antiphons or Great Os) are Magnificat antiphons used at Vespers on the last seven days of Advent in Western Christian traditions.[1] They likely date to sixth-century Italy, when Boethius refers to the text in The Consolation of Philosophy.[2] They subsequently became one of the key musical features of the days leading up to Christmas.[3]
The texts are best known in the English-speaking world in their paraphrased form in the hymn "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel".[4]