The practice of observing the church year is not known by all Christians. The terms Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, and Easter are not in the Bible. But Christians began following the Church Year–also called the Christian year–perhaps as far back as the fifth century. The practice is a way to regularly focus our hearts on aspects of God’s story, specifically in the life of Jesus Christ.

The Church Year begins with Advent, a word from a version of the Latin word that means “coming.” Of course, what is coming is our celebration of the birth date of Jesus. Just as any home and family that is expecting a newborn will prepare for the birth, so Christians prepare for Christmas. Israel spent thousands of years in perpetual Advent, waiting for the promised Messiah. But now He is come!

How do we today prepare during the season of Advent? Some people keep Advent calendars for daily thoughts or activities. Others use Advent wreaths with four to five candles. A single candle is lit each Sunday of Advent until Christmas Eve, when a center candle may be lit.

While the season of Advent prepares us for December 25, it does more than that. It helps us to anticipate Christ’s future return–His second coming. We might even say there are four kinds of Advent: the historical time preceding Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem; the Advent days of this year and this year’s celebration; remembering the period of our personal lives before we came to know Jesus personally as Savior and Lord; and the “Second Advent” that we are in now, awaiting Christ’s return to rule this earth.

One writer wisely observed: “One of the essential paradoxes of Advent: that while we wait for God, we are with God all along. That while we need to be reassured of God’s arrival, or the arrival of our homecoming, we are already home.”

So if Christ has already come and “we are with God all along,” why should we celebrate a season of Advent? We prepare to once again celebrate His birthday while understanding he continually comes to us who are His children. His first coming is the foundation of our faith. While “we are already home,” His promise to come again and take us to our eternal home is the source of our hope.