# Advent: Somber or Joyous? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 22, 2005, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advent-somber-or-joyous/336710 "2005-12-22T00:41:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jim\_B](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jim_b/32/4338_2.png) [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advent-somber-or-joyous/336710/1 "2005-12-22T00:41:04Z")
My question is mostly related to Christian doctrine and dogma: should Advent be a joyous event as it is in the United States or should it be somber and reflective? I am not very religious per se. But my family and I do celebrate Christmas, so I will interested in the answer to this question too. (BTW, my question is about religious doctrine, but I welcome personal viewpoints added too 🙂 .) Thank you in advance to all who reply 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advent-somber-or-joyous/336710/2 "2005-12-22T01:04:14Z")
I tend to go for the more traditional, sombre view. It makes the whole joy of the Nativity more pronounced. There’s another thread [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=350188) that you may find interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Metacom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecae2f/32.png) [@Metacom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Metacom)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advent-somber-or-joyous/336710/3 "2005-12-22T01:14:59Z")
Joyous. I have all of lent to be somber. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advent-somber-or-joyous/336710/4 "2005-12-22T02:05:05Z")
> [@](#): > > Matthew 6:16-18 (King James Version) > > [sup]16[/sup]Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. > [sup]17[/sup]But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; > [sup]18[/sup]That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. I’m not sure how you are using somber in your statement. I was raised to think of it as pentitential, but in the sense of preparation, not in the sense of sorrow. The readings include John the Baptist crying “Repent. Make straight the way of the Lord.” not the proclamations of doom and everlasting sorrow. The analogy that we were given as kids was to the housecleaning preparatory to a party. It requires effort and is not “fun,” but it is done with a spirit of anticipation of the celebration. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advent-somber-or-joyous/336710/5 "2005-12-22T04:55:32Z")
I personally think it should be reflective, such as Lent. I’m not sure it should be quite as somber as Lent, because the season doesn’t have a Holy Week. Obviously, the third Sunday should be celebrated with Joy. ---
**Author:** ![yBeayf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e274bd/32.png) [@yBeayf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yBeayf)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advent-somber-or-joyous/336710/6 "2005-12-22T05:05:34Z")
In Orthodoxy, it’s a sombre period, but not nearly as much as Lent. It’s one of the four great fasts, but the fasting is more of preparation than repentence. It’s a fairly relaxed fast – no meat or dairy, but fish is allowed on weekends and most Tuesdays and Thursdays. Liturgically, it’s nowhere near the big deal that it is in the West. It’s forty days long, rather than four weeks. The liturgical color is dark blood-red rather than the purple and black of Lent. Weekday services do follow some of the Lenten variants, with certain psalms being replaced with other psalm verses interspersed with “Alleluia”, and the two Sundays before Christmas are dedicated to the ancestors and forerunners of Christ, but other than that it’s services as normal. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advent-somber-or-joyous/336710/7 "2005-12-22T05:16:06Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > The analogy that we were given as kids was to the housecleaning preparatory to a party. It requires effort and is not “fun,” but it is done with a spirit of anticipation of the celebration. **tomndebb** , can I use this with my Sunday School class? I think it’s a really good image that my second and third graders could really latch onto. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advent-somber-or-joyous/336710/8 "2005-12-22T06:33:50Z")
Of course. I have no copyright on something that was passed to me 40 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advent-somber-or-joyous/336710/9 "2005-12-22T15:22:15Z")
[This GQ topic](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=350188&highlight=advent) on Advent in Anglican churches may be of some interest too.