ADVENT &

CHRISTMAS
OPENING PRAYER
“O Come, O Come Emmanuel”
O come,
O come,OThou
come, Emmanuel
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And ransom
Come andcaptive
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That
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spirits byinThine
lonely exilehere
advent here
Disperse theSon
Until the gloomy clouds
of God of night
appear
And death's
Rejoice, dark shadows
rejoice, Emmanuelput to
Shall come toflight
thee, O Israel
Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, o Israel
THE DIGITA
L STORY OF
THE NATIVI
TY
 WHAT WERE THE EVENTS
THAT YOU WERE ABLE TO
IDENTIFY IN THE VIDEO THAT
YOU RECALL IN THE ACTUAL
How did you
feel while
viewing the
modern day
video of the
Nativity?
 Was it able to
provide you with
a clear
understanding of
the actual events
as written in the
Gospels? Why?
What events in the
video showed how
each character
prepared for the
birth of Jesus?
How do we
prepare for
the birth of
Jesus?
Advent is the liturgical
season that precedes and
prepares for Christmas.
It is a season of hope and of
longing, of joyful expectation
and of peaceful preparation.
 Video of
the
Christmas
Story
Event 2
1
Event 21
Graphic Organizer
Handout

5
ADVENT is the liturgical season
that precedes and prepares for
Christmas. It is a season of hope
and of longing, of joyful
expectation and of peaceful
preparation.
 For most Christians, the Advent
Season always begins FOUR
Sundays before Christmas; so it is
rarely four full weeks long, but only
between three and four weeks
(between 22-28 days), depending on
what weekday Dec. 25 happens to be
in a certain year.
The First Sunday of Advent,
which also marks the
beginning of the new
liturgical year for the
Church, could be as early as
Nov. 27 or as late as Dec. 3.
The Third Sunday of Advent is
traditionally called
“GAUDETE" (from Latin,
meaning “REJOICE”).
Advent technically ends of the
afternoon of Dec 24, since that
evening, Christmas Eve,
begins the Christmas Season.
"Advent" (capitalized) usually refers to
"the coming of Christ into the world" or
to "the liturgical period before
Christmas". In the English dictionary,
"advent" (not capitalized) may refer to
any "coming" or "arrival,"
The word is derived from the Latin
adventus ("arrival, approach").
 In the Roman Catholic Church, the
official liturgical color for most of
the season of Advent is
violet(purple). Only on the Third
Sunday of Advent is a rose (pink)
colored candle lit, as a symbol of joy
 Many churches and families
prominently display an evergreen
wreath with four candles throughout
the Advent Season.
It is traditionally made of some type or
mixture of evergreens (fir, spruce,
juniper, holly, etc.), symbolizing the
continuation of life.
The circular shape of the wreath
symbolizes that God has no
beginning and no end.
Christmas is the annual feast
commemorating the birth of
Jesus Christ, a little over 2000
years ago.
 Christmas Day, liturgically called "The
Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord" in
the Catholic Church, technically includes
both Christmas Eve (Dec. 24, after sunset)
and Christmas Day (Dec. 25) itself. For
religiously observant Christians, however,
Christmas is not just one day, but an
entire season, lasting anywhere from 12
days to 40 days in different ecclesial
traditions.
In different Churches, the Christmas
Season might end on Jan. 6 (the
traditional date of the Feast of the
Epiphany), or might last until the
Feast of the Baptism of the Lord
(usually the Sunday after Epiphany),
or might even last all the way to Feb.
2 (the Feast of the Presentation of the
Lord, 40 days after Dec. 25).
 "Christmas" properly refers to
the day when Christians celebrate
the birth of Jesus, Dec. 25 on most
calendars, or to the season
(Christmastide or Christmastime)
which begins on that day (or the
night before).
The official liturgical color
of the Christmas Season for
most Churches is white or
gold, not green and red, as
many people assume.
Sunday after Dec. 25 - The Feast of the
Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph
(transferred to Dec. 30 if the Sunday is
Jan. 1)
Jan. 1 - The Solemnity of the Blessed
Virgin Mary, Mother of God (always on
New Year's Day, the Octave Day of
Christmas, which takes precedence over
the Feast of the Holy Family)
Jan. 6 or the Sunday after Jan. 1 - The
Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord
(traditionally Jan. 6
Sunday after Jan. 6 - The Feast of the
Baptism of the Lord (transferred to
Monday, Jan. 8 or 9, if Epiphany is
celebrated on Sunday Jan. 7 or 8,
respectively, in certain years.
The birth of Jesus is narrated at the
beginning of the Gospel of Matthew and
the Gospel of Luke, but is not mentioned
in Mark, and little is said about it in
John. We are going to focus on the two
gospel accounts coming from Matthew
and Luke. Below are the similarities and
differences between the two accounts.
The parents to be are Mary and Joseph
who are legally engaged or married, but
have not yet come to live together (Matt
1:18; Luke 1:27,34).
Joseph is a descendant of David (Mtt.
1:16,20; Luke 1:27,32; 2:4).
There is an angelic announcement of
Jesus’ birth (Matt 1:20-23; Luke 1:30-
35).
The conception is through the Holy
Spirit (Matt 1:18,20; Luke 1:35).
There is an instruction from the
angel that the child is to be named
Jesus (Matt 1:21; Luke 1:31).
An angel states that Jesus is to be
Savior (Matt 1:21; Luke 2:11).
The birth of the child takes place
after Mary and Joseph have come to
live together (Matt 1:24-25; Luke
2:5-6).
The birth takes place at Bethlehem
(Matt 2:1; Luke 2:4-6).
The birth chronologically related to
the reign (days) of Herod the Great
(Matt 2:1; Luke 1:5).
The child is raised at Nazareth
(Matt 2:23; Luke 2:39).
CHRISTM
AS QUIZ
BEE
 0 Team One

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Spin Wheel
Points
 Relating to the
Bigger Aspect of

Life
Video:
Child of the
Poor, What
Child Is This
Notre Dame Folk Group
How can we truly prepare for
the coming of Jesus?

Enumerate ways as to how we

can share in Christ’s mission
and truly live the spirit of
Christmas.
Activity
Sheet # 5
 Project Making:
Christmas Card Making
Materials: Oslo Paper / Coloring
Materials / Pictures
Cover Page – Pictures of how we
celebrate Christmas in the Philippines
Inner Page Left – An illustration of
themselves sharing the true meaning of
Christmas
Inner page Right –A short prayer
thanking Jesus for His coming and to
God for the gift of Jesus
Back Page – Bible passage related to
Advent and Christmas
 CLOSURE

• What did we learn today?

• So What ?(relevancy,
importance, usefulness)

• Now What? (how does this

fit into what we are learning,
does it affect our thinking,
can we predict
where we are going)