We wish you a healthy, prayerful, and blessed Christmas and New Year as you prepare for the promise and fulfillment of His second coming!
Advent derived from the Latin word meaning “coming” is the 40-day Nativity Fast, which has practices different from those in the West and signifies the Second Coming of Christ. It begins four Sundays before Christmas and ends on Christmas Eve. Advent is the beginning of the liturgical year for all Christians.
This is a time of jubilee when all Christians prepare for, and anticipate, the coming of Christ. The first clear references in the Western Church to Advent is in the Gelasian Sacramentary, which provides Advent Collects, Epistles, and Gospels for the five Sundays preceding Christmas and for the corresponding Wednesdays and Fridays.
We remember the longing of the Jews for a Messiah and our own longing for, and the need for forgiveness, salvation and a new beginning. As we look back and celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ this Holiday Season, we also look forward to the promise and fulfillment of His second coming. At various ECWA churches around the world, we start observing Christmas season at sundown on December 24 (Christmas Eve) through Epiphany of the Lord (January 6). This period is popularly referred to as “the twelve days of Christmas.”
Christmas celebration and traditions varies from country to country. But regardless of which way you and your churches/family celebrate Christmas this Holiday Season; we wish you a healthy, prayerful, and blessed Christmas and New Year as you prepare for the promise and fulfillment of His second coming!
