The First Sunday of Advent marks the beginning of the journey to Bethlehem, which will culminate in the arrival of the Magi and conclude with the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Candlemas. The entire season is about preparation as well as celebration.
At Advent we look to the Second Coming of Christ; at Christmas we rejoice again at his first coming in the flesh.
It is one of the great divides between the Church and the world that the Church’s year begins when it does, at the beginning of Advent, while the secular year begins on 1 January, which sits within the Christmastide season as one of the feasts of the Twelve Days of Christmas.
