What's Advent? Why Celebrate It?

Written by Tina Farewell

It's always such a surprise to this spur-of-the-moment, celebrator that I am writing you about a holiday that doesn't happen tomorrow! But this week in Florida it's been cool enough to keep the windows and doors open for several days in a row, so it's easier for me to think about the upcoming holidays.

Though you may not have heard of the Advent season, it is a special holiday season that most traditional and liturgical churches celebrate in order to focus on the profound meaning of Christmas. Believe me, the celebration of Advent is much deeper than the popular Advent calendar with its 25 cute little windows to open! Advent is a rich and meaningful time—making Christmas very, very special!

What Is Advent?

Advent is the special season that comes just before Christmas. The word advent comes to us from the Latin word adventus, which means "coming." Advent is a beautiful and worshipful way of preparing our hearts and minds for the celebration of the first coming (the birth) of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is also a time of preparation as we look forward to His Second Coming.

Celebrating Advent helps our family focus on Christ's coming and not on material gifts. We gather every evening to read from our chosen devotional book for the season. Then we move to the dining room where our Advent wreath is displayed on the buffet with a
lovely mirror in the background—perfect for reflecting shining candles and smiling faces.

Bob chooses one of our excited children to light the candles. Then we sing a favorite chorus about Jesus being the Light of the world; each of us prays aloud; and finally we sing again as the candles are extinguished. Then we're off to bed! It is very short and simple, but truly anticipated and extremely meaningful.

Advent Wreath and Candles

The lighting of the candles on the Advent wreath begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas, which is often the Sunday following Thanksgiving. This year Advent begins on Sunday, November 27, 2005.

The Advent wreath is traditionally used to celebrate this wonderful season. Though traditions may differ, a new purple candle is lit during the first three weeks of Advent; on the fourth week, the pink candle is lit. The white candle is lit on Christmas Eve.

We adorn our wreath with greens and Brazilian pepper (which is the only thing that is red and green in Central Florida at this time of the year!). It may also be left unadorned and will still be lovely.

Though you can purchase Advent wreaths, it is very simple to make your own. Simply place four candles in a circle and put one candle in the center of the circle. Some families use tapers; others use votive candles.

You can use the traditional candle colors of purple, pink, and white, or you can create a family tradition in the way the Holy Spirit leads you! One family I know of uses four white candles, symbolizing purity, set around a large red and white striped candle, symbolizing the blood of Jesus and His stripes for our healing.

Why Read Biblical Historical Fiction?

Throughout the Advent season our family reads many wonderful books—one Advent devotional book, many favorite picture books, and one longer read aloud book. Reading aloud adds a delightful and important element to our family's "museum of memories," as Edith Schaeffer would say.

Because our society today is so far removed from the culture of Jesus' time, biblical historical fiction is an incredible learning tool for adults and children, and is much more enjoyable that dry academic textbooks. This genre helps the sometimes overly familiar Bible stories come to life for us—through the eyes and pen of an author who vividly portrays the people, background, culture, events, and setting of the Bible. Excellent biblical historical fiction can truly change our lives!

Our Favorite Advent Books

Although there are many books available for celebrating Advent, our family favorites are three by Arnold Ytreeide—Jotham’s Journey, Bartholomew’s Passage, and Tabitha’s Travels. The plots are fascinating and filled with rich spiritual insights.

Ytreeide's books are not namby-pamby sweet portrayals of life in Bethlehem. Instead they are narrations of the tensions of grim and turbulent times under Roman occupation—making the birth of the Messiah such an answer to prayer! However, because of the adventure and detail in these books, some families of young children find it best to read them in the morning.

The readings for each day in Advent are comprised of a cliff-hanging historical fiction section, a devotional section, and a prayer. Instructions for making an Advent wreath are included, as well as a very helpful chart showing beginning dates of Advent for about the next 70 years.

With each book in the series, our children jubilantly chanted Bob to "read more, please!!" Of course, if he did so, he would be reading the next day's section, so he didn't relent, but the enthusiasm for this series never waned.

Jotham’s Journey
This book begins when ten-year-old Jotham runs "away from his father's tents in a moment of anger … he journeys through Palestine in search of his nomadic home, Jotham is helped by a fool, a priest, a zealot and a wise man. Chased by a gang of thieves, thrown from one `foster parent" to another, Jotham slowly discovers the miracle of the first Christmas, and some miraculous things about his own life and his own family." A fantastic book!

Bartholomew’s Passage: A Family Story for Advent
In this next book of this spellbinding series, "Follow Bartholomew as Roman soldiers destroy his village and disperse his family, through his enslavement to a tyrannical master and his escape with his new friend Nathan [to Qumran—remember Nathan?], to his reunion with his family and a wonderful climax in Bethlehem. Along the way Bartholomew makes a new pal—Jotham!!”

Tabitha’s Travels
This is the newest and final book of the Ytreeide Advent trilogy. "Curious, competent, and courageous Tabitha is the daughter of Eliakim, a shepherd who is taking his family on caravan to his birthplace. Along the way she meets and becomes friends with Jotham and Bartholomew, watches as Romans take her father prisoner, spends time with Zechariah and Elizabeth, rescues her father, helps Mary and Joseph just before Christ's birth, and ends her travels with the wonderful climax at the stable in Bethlehem." Obviously Tabitha is a strong character who will open a lot of family discussion!

The Blessing of Advent: A Testimony

Because Advent has always been a part of my life, I didn't realize the deep impact that the season could have on families celebrating it for the first time. Dave and Lisa Baughn's family in California had such a rich experience last year that they can't wait to share it with others! Here is their testimony:

Every year on Christmas day we suffered from the heart-sickening knowledge that we weren't glorifying the Lord, His precious birthday, or focusing on Him as much as we could.

We were good at sharing Christ during His season of birth, but we always had the disconcerting feeling that something was missing. We had an empty, aching longing for our Savior. Our lives focused so much on Him, but somehow were we missing Him?

This year our hearts are being filled as we celebrate Advent! We ordered Jotham's Journey and on the first Sunday of Advent, we hastily pulled together a wreath and candles.

That first night, with candles glowing, singing carols, and reading the Bible, we began to fill the ache of many years. The single most exciting thing in our lives is celebrating Christ in Advent each night!

We had read and memorized many of the prophecies, we knew the carols, we knew the story, but now when we sit in our candlelit house each evening, it is all new, it is fresh, it is like Christ is about to be born in a few days, yet we celebrate His birth two
millennia ago!

I cannot express how wonderful this entire celebration is, and how it is further melding our family together.

Now I am on a mission to share with friends and family the treasure of celebrating Advent. We Christians are missing out. Growing up without Christ, I thought Advent was a countdown to Santa.

It is on my heart to develop an Advent wreath for next year, to order several books, and to have an `Advent Party' during Thanksgiving weekend. We will give our friends a wreath and book, and show them how we do it, probably by doing an actual night of Advent with house aglow. This will be their Christmas present, and, God willing, it will be their new family tradition for years to come!

Had you not taken the time to show us how to celebrate Advent, we would be well into another Christmas season with that aching longing for something more.

If You Have Any Thoughts about Advent …

If you'd like to share your thoughts about Advent, feel free to send your reflections to our e-mail discussion list, Living Books. There are moms from all over the world who enjoy sharing their experiences. To subscribe visit http://www.LifetimeBooksandGifts.com and click on Living Books.

There are so many rich and joyous memories we can make with our families at this time of year! I pray you will wisely choose the resources that will make your family draw closer to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and leave the world behind!

Contact Information:

Tina Farewell is a columnist for www.lifeway.com/homeschool.

To order the books discussed in this article, visit Lifetime Books and Gifts at www.lifetimebooksandgifts.com.

Tina and Bob Farewell are the owners of Lifetime Books and Gifts. For the Farewells, this is a full-time ministry as they spend six months each year in their motor home with five children and a trailer full of great resources, traversing the country, speaking to and counseling with thousands of homeschool families. The Farewells have been homeschooling for almost twenty years and are the authors of The Always Incomplete Resource Guide. Be sure and visit their Web site (www.lifetimebooksandgifts.com/) and sign up for their e-newsletter Lifetime Treasures while you’re there.