Advent and Christmas

Catholic Traditional Gifts for Advent and Christmas

It has always been the aim of our Holy Church to cause her children to reflect. She sets apart during the year two seasons, in which she tries to imbue the faithful with a spirit of penitential fervor. One of these seasons, which is called Advent, from the Latin word adventus, (arrival) embraces four Sundays, beginning with that which is nearest to the feast of St. Andrew, the thirtieth of November.

The first Sunday of Advent, in our part of the Church, is always the beginning of the ecclesiastical year. The spirit of the Church during this time is symbolized by the purple vestments, emblematic of penance, worn at her services on each of these Sundays and on some other days, in preparation for the great festival of the Nativity of our Blessed Lord.