Church of St. Uriel the Archangel Sea Girt, New Jersey

ADVENT

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The Season of Advent begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas Day. It is a time of hopeful expectation during which we watch, wait, and prepare for the coming of Christ, both as the newborn infant in Bethlehem, and as our King and Judge on the Last Day.

The liturgical color of Advent is violet. On the Third Sunday of Advent (Gaudete or "Rejoice" Sunday), it is lightened to rose.

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In the Church's tradition, we do our best to keep Advent distinct from the Christmas Season, which begins (and does not end) on December 25th with the Feast of the Nativity. The candles on the Advent Wreath mark the passage of time towards Christmas, but the Christmas decorations wait.

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CHRISTMAS

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In the contemporary calendar of the Western Church, the Christmas Season (the Christmas-Epiphany Season, to be more exact) lasts from December 25th until the First Sunday after the Epiphany (the Feast of the Baptism of Christ).

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Along the way, we celebrate the Lord's Birth on December 25th; the Feasts of St. Stephen, St. John, and the Holy Innocents on the three days following; the Naming and Circumcision of Jesus on January 1st; and the Epiphany (commemorating the Visit of the Magi to Bethlehem) on January 6th. The time is one of extended joy and celebration of the Light that has come into the world.

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THE SEASON AFTER THE EPIPHANY

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On the Monday after the First Sunday after the Epiphany, we return to Ordinary Time. The vestments revert to green. Nonetheless, following the Baptism of Christ, the Season's Sundays highlight moments of epiphany manifesting or revealing Jesus as the Son of God: such as the Wedding Feast of Cana, and other miracles, culminating in the Transfiguration of Christ on the Last Sunday after the Epiphany before Lent begins.

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