Advent Sunday is the first day of the season that marks the beginning of the church year. It is a time for reflection in darkness, for renewal of hope and for a movement towards a beginning. The season of Advent is the four Sundays before Christmas Day.
It is a season of expectation and preparation as the Church prepares to celebrate the coming of Christ. Church decorations are simple and sparse, and purple is the traditional colour used. Advent falls at the darkest time of the year, and the natural symbols of darkness and light are powerfully at work throughout Advent and Christmas.