You might not know this (I certainly didn’t!) but the season of Advent has its very own songs! Advent music is very different from the music of Christmas. Christmas music is celebratory and filled with joy, the long-awaited Savior has come! But in Advent, we are waiting. The songs are filled with a deep longing and yearning for the promised savior to come. They acknowledge the darkness of the world in which we live and they yearn for deliverance and redemption. Think about the famous Advent song, “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” and the deep desire for salvation conveyed in its words.
O come, O come Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel
Or another famous Advent hymn, “Lo, He Comes With Clouds Descending”. It is all about Jesus coming in glory at the second coming. The song swells and builds until it bursts out with the final stanza-
Lo! he comes with clouds descending,
Once for our salvation slain;
Thousand thousand saints attending
Swell the triumph of his train:
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
God appears, on earth to reign
These songs are amazing! I promise you will be blown away!
Yes, it can be hard to sing Advent songs rather than Christmas songs but focusing on the songs of Advent only heightens and emphasizes its themes of longing and expectation. And think about it, not singing Christmas carols throughout Advent will make them that much more powerful when we finally get to sing them on Christmas Eve. When our family finally arrives at our church’s Christmas Eve service, we are all desperate to sing Christmas carols! When we stand for that first song, we are ready to fully celebrate what we have been waiting for all of Advent, the long-awaited birth of Jesus! With huge smiles on our faces and joy in our hearts, we belt out “O Come All Ye Faithful” like never before!
I've created both a traditional and contemporary playlist for you. I hope they are a blessing to you and your family!
Contemporary
Traditional
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