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Hello everyone As we are closing in on Christmas, I thought that I'd open a question as we prepare For the holidays. The question that is asked is Should Christians celebrate Advent? a little history about advent: The word “Advent” is derived from the Latin word adventus, meaning “coming,” which is a translation of the Greek word parousia. Scholars believe that during the 4th and 5th centuries in Spain and Gaul, Advent was a season of preparation for the baptism of new Christians at the January feast of Epiphany, the celebration of God’s incarnation represented by the visit of the Magi to the baby Jesus.his baptism in the Jordan River by John the Baptist and his first miracle at Cana during this season of preparation, Christians would spend 40 days in penance, prayer, and fasting to prepare for this celebration; originally, there was little connection between Advent and Christmas. By the 6th century, however, Roman Christians had tied Advent to the coming of Christ. But the “coming” they had in mind was not Christ’s first coming in the manger in Bethlehem, but his second coming in the clouds as the judge of the world. It was not until the Middle Ages that the Advent season was explicitly linked to Christ’s first coming at Christmas. (Source: Christianity.com) So what is advent? The Christian Advent tradition celebrates the coming of Jesus to earth through His birth in Bethlehem. As well as the celebration of his second coming to earth which all Christians are waiting. Is Advent biblical? The birth of Christ that is celebrated throughout Advent is based on biblical events and includes much Scripture. As well as the verses from the word that pertain to the coming of Christ. To balance the two elements of remembrance and anticipation, the first two Sundays in Advent (through December 16th) look forward to Christ’s second coming, and the last two Sundays (December 17th – 24th) look backward to remember Christ’s first coming. Over the course of the four weeks, Scripture readings move from passages about Christ’s return in judgment to Old Testament passages about the expectation of the coming Messiah to New Testament passages about the announcements of Christ’s arrival by John the Baptist and the Angels. For more details please go to: https://www.christianity.com/christian-life/christmas/what-is-advent.html Dates for this year's advent season: Advent 2019 begins on Sunday, December 1st and ends December 24th Thanks for reading. Please feel free to share. The question is: Should Christians celebrate Advent?