The Advent Wreath: A very complex history. I am not sure whether the wreath has made a debut or a comeback. It was never a feature in the Advent liturgies of my childhood. As an altar boy I rememb… ...

PHOTOS: Bethlehem Welcomes Advent 2023 With Quieter Procession, ... the Advent season and a new liturgical year for the Catholic Church ... the custos lit the first candle of the Advent wreath.

Advent calendars are popular, often containing chocolates or even luxury goods. But what are they and where did they originate? Here's how the faithful use them to prepare for Christmas.

Advent 2024 starts on Sunday. Dec. 1. Here's what Christians do during Advent, how long it lasts and how it's different from Christmas.

Motherhood was the primary vocation for Therese Geuer Mueller. The holder of a doctorate in economics and sociology, Mueller ...

Advent begins this year on Sunday, Dec. 3. Most Catholics, even those who don’t often go to Mass, know that Advent involves a wreath with candles, possibly a “calendar” of hidden chocolates ...

CNA Newsroom, Dec 3, 2023 / 06:00 am. Advent begins this year on Sunday, Dec. 3. Most Catholics, even those who don’t often go to Mass, know that Advent involves a wreath with candles, possibly ...

This year, Advent starts on Sunday, Dec. 3, and will encompass four weeks, with each week dedicated to a specific theme represented by the lighting of candles on an Advent wreath. The themes ...

Johann Hinrich Wichern (1808-1881), a Lutheran pastor in Germany who spent years doing urban mission work among the poor, is credited to be the “inventor” of the modern Advent wreath in the ...

Within the wreath’s branches, four candles representing the four weeks of Advent are inserted, with one lit on each of the four Sundays before Christmas. Three candles are purple and one is rose ...

The annual liturgical calendar reminds us of the cycle of seasons— Advent, Christmas, Easter, Lent, and Ordinary time. This year, 2024, Advent begins on De. 1 and ends Dec. 24.