Books

Interested in what's available in print related to Advent? You might try searching Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or one of the other online bookshops. Out of curiosity we did a subject search for 'Advent' at Amazon and were rewarded with many mostly relevant titles.

Calendars

Türchen. Create your own digital Advent calendar.

AdventWord. 'Pray through Advent. Pray through your phone camera. Create a Global Advent Calendar.' From the Society of St John the Evangelist.

It's a Shape Christmas. 'an Interactive Advent Calendar produced by Shape Design Studio'.

SSJE Pinterest Advent Calendar

National Museums Liverpool Advent Calendar

Advientos: Make your own Advent calendar

Online Video Advent Calendars: 'Create personalised video advent calendars'.

Advent Surprise Calendar. From bustedhalo.com.

Advent Traditions.com: Advent calendars of all shapes, materials and sizes may be ordered through this site.

Advent Calendar: A good one from Scotland On Line.

Advent Calendar for Kids: From a US homeschooling site comes a rich resource for children.

Full Homely Divinity Advent calendar

History of the Advent Calendar: To some, advent calendars may seem like either an excuse to eat chocolate or just another thing that companies can sell to us in the run-up to Christmas. However, the humble advent calendar has a long history and was in fact invented by the same people who brought us Christmas cookies and the practice of decorating Christmas trees.

Premium Whisky Advent Calendar for 2017 from Master of Malt. Yes, you will find a dram of premium whisky from Scotland and Japan for each day of Advent.

See also Sellmer-Verlag's 'History of the Advent Calendar' including that company's online museum of past Advent calendars.

Candles, Wreaths (also see the young people sites below)

How to make and use an Advent wreath. The site is much fuller than just the 'how-to' make and use Advent wreaths.

Children and young people

Advent paper chain. This year try an advent calendar with a difference - an advent paper chain. It is fun for the kids to make themselves and is an economical - as well as decorative, alternative to the shop-bought advent calendars.

Faith at Home: Advent ideas and resources for families and church school teachers

Fridge Art: fun family-centred activities designed to bring liturgical life of church into the home, and teach children about living the Catholic faith. [Note: Heavily Roman Catholic in emphasis.]

General

Make Ready the Feast: 'a collection of recipes shared by members and friends of the Episcopal Church from all over the world. Seasonal and timeless foods for a single dinner or a group gathering are featured. We welcome comments and photos of your own efforts.'

ECF Vital Practices Advent Resources: 'Links to free Advent resources, including calendars and devotions; Advent wreaths and activities; St. Nicholas Day; and preparing for Christmas visitors at your church.'

Making Room in our Hearts: 'Advent Reflections by the Oblates and Sisters of the Sisterhood of St John the Divine in Toronto Ontario Canada'.

The Anglican Church of Canada has posted new Advent resources for 2017.

Is It Christmas? You can find out by clicking

Advent and Christmas Seasons. This informative page from the United States Conference of [Roman] Catholic Bishops provides some useful material.

Advent Conspiracy. 'Worship fully. Spend less. Give more. Love all.' Highly recommended.

An Advent page from King of Peace Episcopal Church (Georgia, USA) with explanations, dates, traditions, the text of a wreath service, and so forth. A fine page.

Advent Sermons 1885, by Richard William Church (1901 edition). R.W. Church, dean of St Paul's from 1871-1890, preached these four sermons on 'Faith amid Changes,' 'The Kingdom of God' and 'Hope' on the four Sundays of Advent, 1885.

Anglican Advent Carnival. A weblog called A Ten O'Clock Scholar rounds up Anglican Advent traditions and links. The author's essay on the Advent that almost wasn't is worth your time.

Archbishop's Reflections on Advent. Former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams reflects on YouTube about calendars, self-examination, chocolate, hope, repentance, quiet, and waiting.

Buy Nothing Christmas: 'This Christmas we'll be swamped with offers, ads and invitations to buy more stuff. But now there's a way to say enough and join a movement dedicated to reviving the original meaning of Christmas giving'. A national initiative started by Canadian Mennonites, it's 'open to everyone with a thirst for change and a desire for action.'

Full Homely Divinity is a 'website for the Anglican at the Altar and especially for the Anglican in the pew.' It has expanded its offering of Advent material, and has a new page on the Saints of Advent, as well as another called Rediscovering Advent.

Love Blooms Bright: This Advent blog from the Scottish Episcopal Church, launched in 2007, returns again each year.

Praying Advent. 'We often miss Advent's power because these December weeks are full of secular Christmas parties and preparations for Christmas. Each year, the busyness of this season serves to distract us from having an Advent season that truly prepares us for the celebration of Christmas, with all its meaning. This site offers simple ways to enter into this Advent season, week by week, in the midst of our everyday lives.' From Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska.

St Nicholas: Discovering the Truth about Santa Claus. A wonderful website. 'St. Nicholas Center is a virtual center, a website, where people can learn about St. Nicholas; it provides resources for families, churches, and schools.' 'St. Nicholas, lover of the poor and patron saint of children, is a model of how Christians are meant to live. As priest and bishop, Nicholas put Jesus Christ at the center of his life and ministry. His concern for children and others in need or danger expressed a love for God which points toward Jesus, the source of true caring and compassion. Embracing St. Nicholas customs can help recover the true center of Christmas—the birth of Jesus.'

Southern Hemisphere Advent collects. From liturgy.co.nz.

Music

Festival of Lessons and Carols. Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly (Public Broadcasting Service) has a fine collection of audio and video about this wonderful service. See especially the interviews with Victoria Sirota and William Edwards. And do have a look at Anglicans Online's 2013 exploration of the history of the Festival of Lessons and Carols.

Advent at St Paul's (Washington, DC) The highly-regarded choir at this Washington parish has produced a CD and offers it for sale.

'Annunciation Song' is a text for Advent IV and Christmastide set to the familiar tune 'Tempus Adest Floridum' by Fr Vincent Uher.

Gradual Psalms for Advent, Christmas, and Epiphanytide of Year B . [PDF download] Full Homely Divinity and Don Kerr have produced this set of gradual psalms in a format that provides a simple congregational refrain to be sung at intervals while the verses are sung to traditional plainchant by cantors. This document uses the Coverdale Psalter and the 1979 American BCP lectionary.

The 'O' Antiphons

Keeping His Os: V.K. McCarty of the General Theological Seminary (New York) writes on the O Antiphons in parish usage.

The 'O Antiphons' — starting December 17. In seven short videos, the SSJE Brothers teach about the ancient, ever new 'O Antiphons: O Wisdom; O Lord; O Root of Jesse; O Key of David; O Dayspring; O Ruler of the Nations; O Emmanuel.

Thinking Antiphons. Our friends at Thinking Anglicans published a series of reflections on the O Antiphons. Find O Sapientia, O Adonai, O Radix Jesse, O Clavis David, O Rex Gentium, and O Emmanuel.

A devotion for the last days of Advent from Full Homely Divinity. 'We offer here another way of using the Great O’s. One may use as much or as little of this devotion as is appropriate. It could be used at any time of day, but the beginning or the end of a meal is suggested. The simplest use would be to say the antiphon, or to sing the verse of the hymn. Then, say the Lord’s Prayer and conclude the devotion with a prayer appropriate for the season. If the devotion is used before a meal, the usual mealtime grace would be said in place of, or in addition to, the seasonal prayer.'

Liturgy: Worship that works — spirtuality that connects: O Antiphons

The 'O' Antiphons. You can open the Antiphons in your browser or download a PDF file.

Julian of Norwich opens her Westminster Cathedral Manuscript text of the Showing of Love with a Great O, an Omega, rather than an Alpha, invoking the Great O Antiphon of Advent, 'O Sapientia', said by Mary worshiping her not-yet-born Child, tenting within her.

Resource Pages
Other collections of links that somewhat parallel our own.

Advent resources page at textweek.com.