The Latin word Advent means waiting for the Lord. The 4 weeks before Christmas are the weeks of Advent, the Greeks have 6 weeks, the Orthodox also keep it, and even the Protestants.

It began in the 4th century and originates from the Catholic Church, which means universal church. Since this is the church of Jesus from the beginning, it was founded by the apostles. Protestantism emerged only after the Reformation, in the 1540s, and from that point on, even more ways of celebration emerged.

Advent wreath

they make pine trees in the Catholic church, they light one more candle every Sunday, this has been passed down to the families as well. Three candles are purple, which is the color of repentance, the last pink is the color of love, joy, because the Lord was born. Until the middle of the 20th century, Advent also meant the period of fasting. Advent Dec. It lasts until the 24th, ending with the midnight mass, which is a celebration of joy.

Advent calendar

they also used to make 24 windows until Christmas. This comes from an evangelical who, as a child, could hardly wait for Christmas, and besieged his mother with questions incessantly. For this, his mother made a calendar where there was a chocolate every day behind the window. It brought him so much joy that he started a business for it when he grew up.

But who is the Lord we are waiting for?

We live in a Judeo-Christian culture, for us Jesus is our Messiah, our Savior, to whom we turn for the forgiveness of our sins, so that we can return to the Father, the creator of the earth, after our death. Jesus is the gate through which we can do this.

Jesus is a historical person, whose actions were accurately recorded by his disciples and later recorded in the Holy Scriptures, otherwise in the Bible. Baby Jesus was born in the Middle East, in the Promised Land, in Israel, which land was given to the "chosen people", the Jewish people, by God. He was born where there is now a war, where since the second conquest of the Jewish people, in World War II. Since its establishment after the Second World War, there has been continuous unrest.

Although the Jews, Jesus' mother Mary, Jesus himself and the founders of Christianity lived in Israel 2000 years ago. But most of the Jews did not accept God's son as Savior, Messiah, so, as Jesus prophesied, Jerusalem was destroyed (by the Romans) and the people were "scattered" in the world. After the Holocaust, Israel was re-established, but by then the Holy Land was occupied by Muslims. Thus, since then, there has been unrest in the Holy Land, the place of Jesus' birth.

But what happened 2000 years ago?

There lived a virgin named Mary in Nazareth, who was visited by the Archangel Gabriel, who was sent to her by God. He said: "Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with you, Blessed are you among women, and Blessed is the fruit of your womb." "What kind of greeting is this?" - answered Mária. Then the angel explained that she would conceive a son from the Holy Spirit who would bring blessings to the whole world.

And Mary said yes. Everything depended on this, on one woman.

Thus the child was conceived by the Holy Spirit and grew day by day. Mária found out in a mystical way that her cousin Erzsébet had also conceived a boy despite her old age, so she visited her. (Erzsébet's son became the later St. John the Baptist, who prepared the way for Jesus).

Meanwhile, Mária's condition progressed quite well. When József, his fiancé, returned home, he was shocked to see that Mária was pregnant. He fought, and he wanted to forgive him in silence, because if he was accused of this, he would be stoned to death in that age. But he was also visited by the angel in his dream. He told her: "Don't be afraid, marry Mary, the child is from the Holy Spirit".

It happened that Emperor Augustus ordered the census, which required going to Bethlehem, because Joseph was born there. They put her on a donkey, Mary, who was already in an advanced state, sat on the donkey, Joseph, the righteous man, walked beside her. It took a long time for them to reach Bethlehem, which, by the way, was predicted by the prophets, saying that the Messiah would be born there. But they couldn't find a place to stay, even though they went all around the city. Finally, they stayed in a cave on the outskirts of Bethlehem, which was used to house animals. József took care of Mária and even prepared the small manger to welcome the newborn.

And indeed, baby Jesus was born at night. The news was brought to the shepherds by angels who visited the newborn.

Christmas is also a holiday of love, because "God is love", we celebrate his birthday. By the way, no religion in the world has the word "love". And Jesus gave this command: "Love one another as I have loved you."

Most of all, the Gospel of Luke contains the story of the birth of Jesus. In this Advent season, let's read and say the prayer of the Flame of Love movement, no matter which denomination we belong to:

A prayer of union with the Lord

My beloved Jesus!
May our feet walk together,
our hands gather together,
our hearts beat together,
our hearts feel together, our minds
be united in one thought,
our ears listen to the silence together,
our eyes look into each other and our eyes converge,
our lips together beg the Eternal Father for mercy! Amen.

Catherine the Spider

Cover image: Bethlehem of the Nation in front of the Parliament
Source: Kisgyőr