Moral and religious education Year 5: Advent and Christmas: preparing and celebrating
Moral and religious education, Year 5 (Portugal): Advent prepares Christmas, the celebration of the birth of Jesus: who appears in the story, where and when it is set, and how Christians express it.
Advent: a time of preparation
Advent comes from the Latin adventus, “arrival”. In the Christian tradition it is the time of preparation for Christmas: it lasts three to four weeks, counted in four Sundays, and communities mark it with prayer, waiting and the Advent wreath, where one more candle is lit each Sunday. Christmas, on 25 December, celebrates the birth of Jesus. Christians see in it the fulfilment of a hope announced by the prophets: that God would come to be with people.
Who is who in the story
Each figure of Advent and Christmas has a role. In Advent: the prophet Isaiah, in whom Christians read the announcement of a child who brings peace; John the Baptist, who calls people to prepare the way; Mary, the mother of Jesus; and Joseph, her husband. At Christmas: the newborn Jesus; the angels, who bring the news; the shepherds, who are the first to hear it; and the Magi from the East, who come with gifts. Herod, the king, is troubled by the news.
Case: where and when was Jesus born?
Read it like a historian. Step 1 — the sources: the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, written by Christians decades later. Step 2 — the place: Bethlehem, in Judea, a small town near Jerusalem; Mary and Joseph lived in Nazareth, in Galilee. Step 3 — the power: the Roman Empire, under the emperor Augustus, with Herod the Great as king of Judea. Step 4 — the time: by the usual reckoning Herod died in 4 BC, so the birth is placed a few years before year 1 of our calendar, which was calculated later. Result: a Jewish family in a land under Roman power.
Gospel or later tradition?
Many things “everyone knows” about Christmas are not in the Gospels. They give no date: celebrating on 25 December is documented only from the 4th century. Matthew speaks of Magi from the East who bring gold, frankincense and myrrh; he does not say they were three, or kings, and names such as Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar come from later tradition. To avoid the trap, ask of each detail: is it in the text, or was it added later?
Nativity scenes, carols and sharing
Christian communities express Advent and Christmas in culture and art: the nativity scene, which tradition traces to Saint Francis of Assisi at Greccio in 1223; carols such as “Silent Night”; the Advent wreath; and paintings and music showing the birth. Many communities also organise collections of food, clothes and toys and meals for people who are alone, presenting this as living Jesus's message: building a fairer, more humane and more responsible society.
Test what you learned
What is Advent in the Christian tradition?
- a) The celebration of Christmas itself, on 25 December
- b) The time of preparation for Christmas, in the weeks before it
- c) The period after Christmas, following the birth of Jesus
Correct answer: b) The time of preparation for Christmas, in the weeks before it — Right: the word comes from the Latin for “arrival”, and it is marked by waiting, prayer and the Advent wreath.
Reading the Gospels as a historian would, which description of the setting of Jesus's birth fits them?
- a) Nazareth, where Mary and Joseph lived, under Roman power
- b) Jerusalem, inside the Temple, under Roman power
- c) Bethlehem, in a land free of any foreign power
- d) Bethlehem, in Judea, under Roman power, in the time of King Herod
Correct answer: d) Bethlehem, in Judea, under Roman power, in the time of King Herod — Right: that is the setting the Gospels of Matthew and Luke give, and it can be checked against Roman and Jewish history.
Which statement separates correctly what the Gospel of Matthew says about the Magi from what later tradition added?
- a) Matthew gives 25 December as the date of the birth of Jesus
- b) Matthew says three kings came: Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar
- c) Matthew speaks of Magi from the East who bring gifts; number, names and “kings” came from tradition
Correct answer: c) Matthew speaks of Magi from the East who bring gifts; number, names and “kings” came from tradition — Right: ask of each detail whether it is in the text or was added later; that is how a historian reads a story.
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