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Advent

Also in The Church Year

Sunday, November 29 to Thursday, December 24, 2026

Advent marks the beginning of the Christian liturgical year, starting four Sundays before Christmas. It is a time when God’s kairos time breaks into our earthly history and we are reminded of God’s promises to bring about the new creation, beginning with the birth of Jesus. It is a spiritual time of attentiveness and waiting on God’s sovereign activity to inaugurate the salvation of all.

Observances throughout Advent

Includes liturgical dates from the Book of Alternative Services, as well as select secular observances (in italics).

  • Nov. 25-Dec. 10: 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence
  • Nov. 29: Advent 1
  • Nov. 30: St. Andrew
  • Dec. 3: Francis Xavier
  • Dec. 4: Nicholas Ferrar
  • Dec. 5: Clement of Alexandria
  • Dec. 6: Advent 2; also Nicholas; also National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women
  • Dec. 8: Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
  • Dec. 9: Prophets of the Old Testament
  • Dec. 13: Advent 3
  • Dec. 15: Simon Gibbons
  • Dec. 16, 18 and 19: Advent Ember Days
  • Dec. 20: Advent 4
A complete listing of liturgical observances is available in the online lectionary.

Includes Sundays, Holy Days and Ember Days from the Book of Common Prayer.

Additional background on specific Principal Feasts, Holy Days, Memorials and Commemorations is available in For All the Saints.

Suggested resources

Acknowledging the land and God’s creation

This acknowledgement is crafted in light of the Principles of Reconciliation by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, as we seek to live faithfully in Christ and in right relationship with all. 

We give thanks to the Creator for this land, its waters, forests and all living beings, and for the abiding presence of Christ among us. From coast to coast to coast, these have been cared for and nurtured by First Nations, Inuit and Métis through countless generations. 

We honour the enduring relationship Indigenous Peoples have cultivated with these lands and waters, and the treaties and agreements that reflect these sacred bonds. We acknowledge the harms caused by colonial expansion, through frameworks like the Doctrine of Discovery and structures like the residential school system. We recognize our past failures as a Church, including disruption of connections to the land and suppression of Indigenous spiritualities. 

Guided by the gospel of Jesus Christ, we confess our need for healing. We commit ourselves to seeking truth, pursuing reconciliation and nurturing harmony with all creation. We place our trust in Christ, through whom all things are reconciled to God. 

May God strengthen us to live faithfully as stewards of the Earth. Let us walk in love, justice and reconciliation, joining in God’s work to restore all creation.