Christmas and Advent, 2023: Select Resources: Home

Bibliographic Brief for December 2023

Theme Bibliography:  Advent around the World  is celebrated Sunday, December 3 through December 24, in preparation for the commemoration of the birth of Jesus. According to Wikipedia: "Advent is a season of the liturgical year observed in most Christian denominations as a time of expectant waiting and preparation for both the celebration of the Nativity of Christ at Christmas and the return of Christ at the Second Coming". On this page we've included resources that tell how Advent is celebrated in various countries, as well as books and select journal articles on the subject, including commentary on the 'Christmas texts' of the New Testament.

Also see: 

• Christmas at the Glencairn Museum (Bryn Athyn, PA): online source of countless Christmas festivities--Advent calendars, concerts, art, etc., including rich Nativity resources

Augustine's Christmas Sermons--from Breakpoint.org

Bernard of Clairvaux on the Nativity --from Breakpoint.org

Readings for Christmas

• Athanasius on the Incarnation (article); full-text document

• Imagine Peace: Bible Meditations and Worship Resources for Advent

• No One Took Christ Out of Christmas, by Timothy Larsen, CT Magazine
• Advent Meditations from Working Preacher, 2023

• Watch and Pray: an Advent Reading, by Rachel Gilson, CT Magazine

• An Apocalyptic Advent, by Karoline Lewis, Working Preacher (2021)

• A Season for Truth Telling, by Michael Chan, Working Preacher (2021)

• A Series of Advent Devotions from ELCA Ministers