“Advent hymns have about them a sense of dissatisfaction with our lives in this world. … “We have a mess on our hands, some of it of our own making, and we’re praying for Christ to come and save us,” ...

Many Catholic Advent hymns focus on the role of Mary, the mother of Jesus, such as "Rorate Caeli (Drop down, Ye Heavens)." In recent years, Brett McCraken of The Gospel Coalition network has created ...

When many Catholics think of Advent music, what comes to mind is O Come, O Come, Emmanuel and maybe The King of Glory. However, the Church possesses a treasure house of hymns and carols that ...

Our culture doesn't understand the idea of fasting before feasting. We are urged to party and feast all the time." Collections of Christmas music often include a few popular Advent hymns sung in ...

Last year, America published “An (unconventional) Advent Playlist,” an article including two playlists by Karen Nielsen and Rogelio Juárez, in response to a friend’s lament that “‘O Come, O Come ...

Advent for some Christian denominations is a penitential season of waiting and longing in the four weeks before Christmas. The consumer-driven holiday season often overlooks the Advent themes of ...

The Christmas tree is up and lit at Christ Lutheran Church in Marietta, Ga., and the Rev. Rusty Edwards just can't wait to sing a few lines of "O Little Town of Bethlehem," his favorite Christmas song ...

There’s a perennial debate that arises at the end of every year when December and the beginning of Advent roll around. It’s one that leaves all of the people who have started humming carols under ...

Let's face it, the Christmas season comes at us hard and fast — and early! And once it does, it's full-on immersion: food, songs, shopping, decorations, parties, school concerts and presents — "not ...

Our culture doesn't understand the idea of fasting before feasting. We are urged to party and feast all the time." Collections of Christmas music often include a few popular Advent hymns sung in ...

"O Lord, How Shall I Meet You" is a perfect Lutheran hymn for the weeks before Christmas, but shoppers will never hear it between Muzak versions of "Jingle Bells" and ...