by Ella Reff

The Christian calendar has many observances in the month of November, ending with Christ is King Sunday. On the first Sunday we observed All Saints Sunday, remembering those who are no longer with us. The paraments and altar flowers were white. The next Sunday they were green, representing Ordinary Time, and on Christ the King Sunday they are again white. That Sunday marks the end of the Christian year, then the next week Advent begins, and it is always four Sundays before Christmas. Some churches use blue paraments, but we use purple for the royalty of Christ. The Advent wreath has three purple candles and one pink, with the large white center candle for Christmas Eve. While some families have an advent calendar for children to look forward to Christmas, others have an advent wreath and devotions perhaps each Sunday evening. The Upper Room devotional booklet has suggestions for reflecting on each Sunday of Advent.