The Church Year Explained: Advent to Easter

The church year is a yearly cycle of seasons that retells the life of Jesus, from the waiting before his birth to the days after his resurrection. Advent, Christmas, Lent, Holy Week and Easter are the best known. Each season has its own mood, its own colours and its own Bible readings. This guide explains the church year seasons one by one, so that the next time you hear "it is Lent" or "this is the third Sunday of Advent", you know what is happening and why.

You do not need any background. If you have never been inside a church, you can still follow this. If you grew up in one, you may find a reason for something you always did without asking why.

Why churches read the same passages each year

Most people think of a year as January to December. Many churches also count a second year, one that starts in late autumn with Advent and ends a few weeks before the next Advent. This is the church year, sometimes called the liturgical year. The word "liturgical" simply means "to do with public worship".

The idea behind it is simple. A good story is worth hearing again. The Gospels tell about a birth, a ministry, a death and a rising. If a church reads these accounts in order, season by season, a family that comes every year will hear the whole story many times. A child who hears the Christmas passages at age five hears them again at six, ten and fifteen, and understands a little more each time.

Many churches follow a list of readings for each Sunday. This list is called a lectionary. A lectionary says: on this Sunday, read this passage from the Old Testament, this psalm and this passage from a Gospel. Different traditions use different lectionaries, and some churches do not use one at all. So the exact readings you hear may differ from church to church. What stays the same is the shape of the year.

Here is the shape in plain words.

Advent: waiting, before Christmas.
Christmas: the birth of Jesus.
Epiphany: Jesus shown to the world.
Lent: forty days of preparing for Easter.
Holy Week: the last days of Jesus in Jerusalem.
Easter: the resurrection, and the weeks after it.
Pentecost: the coming of the Holy Spirit.
Ordinary Time: the long stretch of regular Sundays in between.

Advent: waiting with Isaiah and John the Baptist

Advent begins the church year. The word comes from a Latin word meaning "coming". It is a season of waiting for the coming of Jesus. Churches often keep Advent for four Sundays before Christmas. Many light one candle on the first Sunday, two on the second, and so on, until the wreath is fully lit. If you want a full guide to this season, read what Advent is and what the Advent readings are.

The mood of Advent is hope in a dark time. This is why the Old Testament readings come from the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah spoke to people who lived under threat. Enemies were strong. Their kings were weak. And yet he told them that God would send a sign, a child, a king who would bring justice. Christians read these words and see Jesus in them. The people who first heard them, of course, heard them as a promise for their own time. Both things are worth knowing.

Here are the passages that Advent readers meet most often, and what each one says.

A sign called Immanuel (Isaiah 7). A frightened king is told that a child will be born and given a name that means "God is with us". The child is a sign that God has not left his people.
A great light in the darkness (Isaiah 9). People who walked in darkness see a great light. A child is born who will be called a wonderful counsellor and a prince of peace.
A shoot from the stump of Jesse (Isaiah 11). A tree is cut down, but a branch grows from the stump. Jesse was the father of King David, so this promises a king from David's family, one who judges fairly.
The desert will bloom (Isaiah 35). A dry land becomes green. The weak are made strong. The way home is open.
A voice in the wilderness (Isaiah 40). A messenger calls out: prepare the road. Comfort my people.

The last of these leads straight into the Gospels. John the Baptist is the "voice in the wilderness" of Advent. He lived in the desert near the River Jordan, wore rough clothes and told people to turn back to God. The Gospels say he was the messenger Isaiah had spoken of. So on the second and third Sundays of Advent, many churches read about John, not about a baby. This surprises beginners. They expect a stable and a manger in December and hear a man shouting in the desert. But it makes sense once you see the point of the season: Advent is about getting ready, and John is the one who tells people to get ready.

Advent usually ends with the stories that come just before the birth: the angel's visit to Mary and Mary's song of praise. After that, Christmas begins. If you want the full story of the birth itself, the birth of Jesus, explained goes through it passage by passage.

Christmas and Epiphany: the birth and the showing

Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus. In many churches it lasts twelve days, which is where the old song about twelve days comes from. The readings are the birth stories in Matthew and Luke, and the opening of John's Gospel, which says that "the Word became flesh" and lived among us.

Then comes Epiphany. The word means "showing" or "appearing". It marks the moments when Jesus is shown to be someone special. The first is the visit of the wise men from the east, who come to worship the child. The second is his baptism in the Jordan, where a voice from heaven speaks. In some traditions there is a third: the first sign at the wedding in Cana, where Jesus turns water into wine.

Epiphany is the season where beginners ask the most questions about the wise men. The Bible does not give their number or their names, and it does not call them kings. How many wise men were there looks at what the text says and where the usual picture came from.

Near the end of this part of the year, many churches read the story of the transfiguration, when Jesus goes up a mountain with three of his followers and is seen shining. It looks back to the baptism, because the same voice speaks, and it looks forward to Lent, because Jesus then turns toward Jerusalem. To read more, see what the transfiguration of Jesus is.

Lent: forty days, the desert and the long readings from John

Lent is the season of preparation before Easter. The word comes from an old English word that meant "spring", because it falls in the spring in much of the northern world. It lasts forty days, not counting Sundays in many traditions, and begins on a day called Ash Wednesday.

Why forty? The number appears often in the Bible, and always with a sense of testing and preparing. Moses stayed on the mountain forty days. The people of Israel travelled in the desert for forty years. Elijah walked forty days to the mountain of God. And Jesus, after his baptism, went into the desert and fasted for forty days before his work began. Lent echoes this last story. The Gospel reading on the first Sunday of Lent is usually the account of Jesus being tempted in the desert.

What do people do in Lent? Many fast or give up something, such as a food, a habit or a screen. Others take on something, such as a daily prayer or a gift to people in need. The idea is not to earn anything. It is to make some quiet space, so that the person who keeps Lent is ready to take in the story of Easter when it comes. Some traditions do not fast at all, and many Christians keep Lent in their own way.

Holy Week: from the city gate to the tomb

Holy Week is the last week of Lent and the most important week of the church year. It follows the last days of Jesus in Jerusalem, almost day by day. If you attend only one week of services in a year, this is the one that makes the most sense of all the others.

Palm Sunday. Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey. Crowds spread coats and branches on the road and shout praise. The branches are palms in many places, and that gives the day its name. Many churches give out palm leaves or small crosses. The mood is joy, but the crowd is in the same city that will turn on him within a week. Many churches read the whole story of the trial and death on this same Sunday, to show how quickly it changes.

Maundy Thursday. The name comes from a Latin word for "command". On the night before he died, Jesus shared a final meal with his followers, a Passover meal, and gave them a command to love each other. The Gospel of John tells how he took a towel and washed their feet, the work of a servant. Many churches repeat this by washing feet during the service. Why Jesus washed the disciples' feet explains what that meant. The Thursday service also remembers the meal itself, which is why communion is so important in it. To understand the setting of the meal, see what Passover is in the Bible.

Good Friday. The day of the trial, the crucifixion and the burial. The name puzzles people. Why "good"? Most likely "good" is used here in an old sense of "holy". Christians keep it as the day on which they believe Jesus gave himself for others. The service is usually quiet. Some churches strip the altar bare, use no music or read the passion account slowly. One detail worth knowing: the Gospels say the veil of the temple tore at the moment he died. Why the temple veil tore explains what the veil was.

Holy Saturday. A day of waiting in silence. The body is in the tomb. In some traditions, a night service late on Saturday begins in the dark and ends with light and the first "Alleluia" of Easter.

For the whole account of these days and what Christians believe about them, the death and resurrection of Jesus, explained is the place to go next.

Easter to Pentecost: fifty days of witnesses

Easter is the center of the church year. It celebrates the resurrection of Jesus on the first day of the week. Churches are full of flowers, and the hymns are loud and glad. The Gospel readings on Easter morning tell of the empty tomb: women come at dawn, find the stone rolled away and hear that Jesus is alive.

Here is the part beginners often miss. Easter is not one day. In the church year it is a season of fifty days, and it ends at Pentecost. For all those weeks, the readings are about people meeting the risen Jesus and telling others about it. They are the witnesses.

Mary Magdalene meets him near the tomb and at first thinks he is the gardener.
Two followers walk with him on the road to Emmaus and do not know him until he breaks bread. Why they did not recognize Jesus goes through the story.
Thomas will not believe until he sees. The story of doubting Thomas shows how Jesus answers him.
Jesus is described as the good shepherd in a passage that many churches read during this season. See what "I am the good shepherd" means.

During these weeks, the reading from the Old Testament is often replaced by a reading from the Acts of the Apostles. Acts tells what the first followers did after Easter. It is the story of how a small group of frightened people became a church that spread across the Roman world. The early church in the Bible, explained covers this period in full.

The season ends with Pentecost. The name means "fiftieth", counting from Easter. In Acts 2, the followers are together in a room when a sound like wind fills the house and flames seem to rest on each of them. They begin to speak in languages they never learned, and people from many nations understand them. Churches call this the birthday of the church. What happened at Pentecost in Acts 2 explains the passage and its link to a feast that was already old.

After Pentecost the church year enters Ordinary Time. "Ordinary" here does not mean dull. It comes from the word for "counted", as in counted Sundays. These weeks follow Jesus through his teaching, and the colour is green, the colour of growth, until Advent comes round again.

Common mistakes readers make

Here are the mistakes beginners make most often.

Thinking the seasons are in the Bible. The Bible does not describe the church year. The year was built over many centuries by Christians, who put the Gospel stories in an order they could keep. The stories are in the Bible. The calendar is a tradition. Knowing this helps, because it explains why churches keep it differently.
Treating Advent as a second Christmas. Advent is a time of waiting and its readings are not about the baby yet. If the first weeks of December sound sad and serious in church, that is deliberate.
Skipping Holy Week and going straight to Easter. Easter morning is joyful because of what comes before it. The Thursday and Friday services are quieter, but they carry the story.
Thinking Lent is only about giving things up. The practice of fasting is old, but the point of Lent is to prepare for Easter. A person who gives up a food and spends no time thinking about Easter has missed the goal.

A worked example: one family, one December

Say a woman named Nokuthula goes to a church for the first time on the first Sunday of Advent. She has come with a friend. She notices a wreath with candles, a purple cloth and no Christmas decorations. The first reading is from Isaiah. It says that a people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. The Gospel reading is Jesus telling his followers to stay awake and be ready.

Nokuthula expected carols and a nativity scene. She wonders if she has the wrong day. But if she knows about the church year, she sees what is happening. The church is not late for Christmas. It is deliberately waiting. The purple cloth, the single candle and the words about light in darkness all point the same way: we are in the dark part of the story, and the light is still coming.

On the second Sunday, she hears about John the Baptist. On the fourth, about Mary. At Christmas, the church is bright, and Nokuthula, who now knows what the wait was for, feels the change. That is what the church year does. It lets you feel the story, not only hear it.

Questions people ask

Do all Christians follow the church year?

No. Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican and Lutheran churches follow it closely. Many other Protestant churches keep Christmas and Easter, and some also keep Advent and Lent. Some churches do not follow the seasons at all and prefer to read through books of the Bible in order. Each is a way of telling the same story.

Why does Easter fall on a different day each year?

Easter is tied to the Passover season, because the Gospels place the death and resurrection of Jesus at that time. It is set by a rule that connects it to the spring and to the moon. Because the rule involves the moon, the day moves. Churches in the East and West also calculate it in different ways, so they do not always agree. If you need the date, look at your church's calendar.

What is the difference between Lent and Holy Week?

Lent is the whole season of forty days of preparation. Holy Week is the final week of Lent, from Palm Sunday to Holy Saturday. Lent is the long walk toward Jerusalem. Holy Week is the arrival and what happens there.

Learn this in five minutes

The track "Waiting for the Light" takes the five Isaiah passages of Advent, one lesson each, from the sign called Immanuel to the voice in the wilderness. Each lesson takes about five minutes and explains the passage, the world around it and what it first meant.