{"id":1750814,"date":"2022-11-25T03:03:19","date_gmt":"2022-11-25T08:03:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1750814"},"modified":"2022-11-25T03:03:24","modified_gmt":"2022-11-25T08:03:24","slug":"if-youre-an-advent-newbie-heres-how-to-embrace-the-glorious-tradition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/if-youre-an-advent-newbie-heres-how-to-embrace-the-glorious-tradition\/","title":{"rendered":"If You\u2019re An Advent Newbie, Here\u2019s How To Embrace The Glorious Tradition"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fif-youre-an-advent-newbie-heres-how-to-embrace-the-glorious-tradition%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1750814&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>For many of you, it never left. For those involved in Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, and other denominations that have kept to liturgy, you have been enjoying the long-held tradition of Advent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thegospelcoalition.org\/article\/the-history-of-advent\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">since the 4th century<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Not so for me. Raised in a Baptist church and educated by an Evangelical university, I knew next to nothing about Advent even though I had been a Christian all my life. That is, until the last decade or so.<\/p>\n<p>The number of Evangelicals, Protestants, and non-denominational congregations that have historically leaned away from the liturgy celebrating Advent is rising. In the last 10 years, we have seen a surge of interest in Advent within the institutions connected to these denominations. <a href=\"https:\/\/smallchurchministry.com\/evangelicals-celebrating-advent\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Churches<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/ccca.biola.edu\/resources\/collection\/devotions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">schools<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/adventconspiracy.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">para-church organizations<\/a> have started embracing aspects of observing Advent.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Why is this return happening? Because these practices are soul-serving and draw us away from the spirit-stifling societal frenzy and into the quiet, where we can commune with God.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p> <strong>What Is Advent?<\/strong> <\/p>\n<p>Advent begins four Sundays before Christmas, so depending on the year, it can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.learnreligions.com\/meaning-of-advent-700455#:~:text=Thus%2C%20the%20actual%20season%20of%20Advent%20can%20last,the%2040%20days%20of%20Lent%20prior%20to%20Easter%29.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">range from 22-28 days long<\/a>. It is a<a href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/ct\/2016\/december-web-only\/tbd-why-is-nice-jewish-girl-like-you-observing-advent.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> season of anticipation and longing<\/a>. It is a time not only to marvel at the first coming of Christ but to join in the groaning for His return and His reign. It is a time to participate in the spiritual practices of worship, generosity, and repentance and to receive hope, peace, joy, and love. It is a time to \u201cprepare the way for the Lord\u201d (Is. 40:3).<\/p>\n<p>In the church, each Sunday corresponds to one of the <a href=\"https:\/\/guideposts.org\/positive-living\/what-are-the-4-themes-of-advent\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">four Advent themes<\/a>: hope, peace, joy, and love. Candles are lit on the Advent wreath, and specific scriptures are read. Many families continue these practices in their homes throughout the season.<\/p>\n<p>If you are new to Advent, it is a safe assumption that Advent and Christmas have bled together to reflect much of the predominant culture. Thanksgiving to Dec. 25 is a Christmas blur, culminating on the 25th with one (hopefully) magical day. It is a frenzy. And while it is filled with festivities, it can leave us feeling empty and like we missed the whole point.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Intentionally practicing Advent helps break this cycle. While it is unlikely that you will be able to fully break from the pre-celebration of Christmas, making the differentiation of Advent and Christmas in your own home can be refreshingly counter-cultural.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Any part of life that is counter-cultural is inherently more difficult. If you are new to Advent, like I was in recent years, try these three practices to get started.<\/p>\n<p> Set Your Intention\u00a0 <\/p>\n<p>The beginning of Advent marks the beginning of the new year in the <a href=\"https:\/\/christianity.org.uk\/article\/the-christian-calendar\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Christian calendar<\/a>. Just like we set New Year\u2019s resolutions when embarking on a fresh year or <a href=\"https:\/\/aleteia.org\/2022\/11\/14\/have-you-ever-tried-making-an-advent-resolution\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Lenten resolutions<\/a> of fasting and prayer, Advent is an opportunity to realign our spiritual intentions. As you embark on the Advent and Christmas seasons, what do you want your spiritual posture to be? Do you want to be more consistent in reading the Word<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Advent draws us away from the spirit-stifling societal frenzy and into the quiet, where we can commune with God.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1566,"featured_media":1750817,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1750814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1750814","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1566"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1750814"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1750814\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1750817"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1750814"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1750814"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1750814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}