Advent songs () are songs and hymns intended for

Advent Advent is a season observed in most Christian denominations as a time of waiting and preparation for both the celebration of Jesus's birth at Christmas and the return of Christ at the Second Coming. It begins on the fourth Sunday before Chri ...

, the four weeks of preparation for

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

. Topics of the time of expectation are the hope for a

Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...

, prophecies, and the symbolism of light, among others. Several of the songs are part of

hymnal A hymnal or hymnary is a collection of hymns, usually in the form of a book, called a hymnbook (or hymn book). They are used in congregational singing. A hymnal may contain only hymn texts (normal for most hymnals for most centuries of Christia ...

s such as the German Catholic ''

Gotteslob ''Gotteslob'' ("Praise of God") is the title of the hymnbook authorized by the Catholic dioceses in Germany, Austria, South Tyrol, Luxembourg and Liège, Belgium. First published in Advent 2013, it is the current official hymnal for German-speak ...

'' (GL) and the Protestant ''

Evangelisches Gesangbuch ''Evangelisches Gesangbuch'' (''EG''; , "Protestantism, Protestant song book") is the current hymnal of German-language congregations in Germany, Alsace and Lorraine, Austria, and Luxembourg, which was introduced from 1993 and 1996, succeeding ...

'' (EG). ''This is a

dynamic list In computer science, a linked list is a linear collection of data elements whose order is not given by their physical placement in memory. Instead, each element points to the next. It is a data structure consisting of a collection of nodes which ...

and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness.''

4th century

Veni redemptor gentium "Veni redemptor gentium" (Come, Redeemer of the nations) is a Latin Advent or Christmas hymn by Ambrose of Milan in iambic tetrameter. The hymn is assigned to the Office of Readings for Advent, from 17 December through 24 December, in the Litur ...

6th century

O Antiphons The O Antiphons (also known as the Great Advent Antiphons or Great Os) are antiphons used at Vespers during the Magnificat on the last seven days of Advent in Western Christianity, Western Christian traditions. They likely date to sixth-century I ...

* Vox clara ecce intonat

12th century

* Veni, veni, Emmanuel (the most common

setting Setting or Settings may refer to: * A location (geography) where something is set * Set construction in theatrical scenery * Setting (narrative), the place and time in a work of narrative, especially fiction * Setting up to fail a manipulative tec ...

in the Anglophone world dates to the 19th century)

13th century

Angelus ad virginem "" (Latin for "The angel came to the virgin", also known by its English title, "Gabriel, from Heven King Was to the Maide Sende" or "Gabriel fram evene king") is a medieval carol whose text is a poetic version of the Hail Mary and the Annunciation ...

* Gabriel's Message

14th century

* Sei uns willkommen, Herre Christ

15th century

* Adam lay ybounden * The Cherry-Tree Carol * Es kommt ein Schiff, geladen * Ther is no rose of swych vertu

16th century

* Der Morgenstern ist aufgedrungen *

Es ist ein Ros entsprungen "" () is a Christmas carol and Marian hymn of German origin. It is most commonly translated into English as "Lo, how a rose e'er blooming" and is also called "A Spotless Rose" and "Behold a Rose of Judah". The rose in the German text is a symbo ...

Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland "" (original: "", English: "Savior of the nations, come", literally: Now come, Saviour of the heathen) is a Lutheran chorale of 1524 with words written by Martin Luther, based on by Ambrose, and a melody, Zahn number, Zahn 1174, based on ...

Of the Father's Heart Begotten "Of the Father's heart begotten" alternatively known as "Of the Father's love begotten" is a doctrinal hymn based on the Latin poem "Corde natus" by the Roman poet Prudentius, Aurelius Prudentius, from his ''Liber Cathemerinon'' (hymn no. IX) be ...

* Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day *

Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme "" (literally: Awake, the voice is calling us) is a Lutheran hymn written in German by Philipp Nicolai, first published in 1599 together with "". It appears in German hymnals and in several English hymnals in translations such as "Wake, Awake, ...

17th century

* Conditor alme siderum * Macht hoch die Tür * Mit Ernst, o Menschenkinder *

O Heiland, reiß die Himmel auf "" (O Saviour, tear open the heavens) is a Christian Advent song. The text was first printed in 1622, attributed to Friedrich Spee; the melody was first printed in 1666. History "" was first published in Würzburg in the collection ''Das Al ...

* Rorate cæli (as a separate Advent hymn) * Venez divin Messie * Wie soll ich dich empfangen

18th century

* Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus * Jesus Christ the Apple Tree *

Lo! He comes with clouds descending "Lo! He comes with clouds descending" is a Christian hymn by Charles Wesley (1707–1788), based on an earlier hymn, "Lo! He cometh, countless Trumpets" by John Cennick (1718–1755). Most commonly sung at Advent, the hymn derives its theological ...

* On Jordan's Bank the Baptist's Cry * Tauet, Himmel, den Gerechten

19th century

* Bereden väg för Herran * The Holly and the Ivy * Hosianna, Davids son *

Lasst uns froh und munter sein "" ("Let us be happy and cheerful") is a traditional German carol from the Hunsrück/Taunus region. There are some regional variations in the lyrics.The second verse is not widely used. The song is traditionally sung during Advent on December 5 ...

Leise rieselt der Schnee Leise rieselt der Schnee (which translates as "softly falls the snow") is one of the most famous Christmas songs in the German language. It was composed in 1895 in Grudziądz, Graudenz by the Protestant pastor Eduard Ebel (1839–1905) and publish ...

* Macht weit die Pforten in der Welt * Maria durch ein Dornwald ging * Meine Seele, dank und singe * Tochter Zion, freue dich

20th century

* Advent är mörker och kyla * Adventstid * Det är advent * Die Nacht ist vorgedrungen * In das Warten dieser Welt *

Kündet allen in der Not "" (Tell all in need) is a Christian hymn with German text by Friedrich Dörr written in 1971 to a 1662 melody by Johann Rudolf Ahle. The song is part of the German Catholic Church, Catholic hymnal ''Gotteslob''. History Friedrich Dörr wrote th ...

* Long Ago, Prophets Knew * Singet fröhlich im Advent * Und unser lieben Frauen * Up, Awake, and Away! (Traditional Galician carol arranged by

Philip Ledger Sir Philip Stevens Ledger, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE, FRSE (12 December 1937 – 18 November 2012) was an English classical musician, conducting, choirmaster and academic, best remembered as Director of the Choir of King' ...

) * Vi tänder ett ljus i advent * Wir sagen euch an den lieben Advent

Secular Advent songs

* *

Literature

* Gerhard Engelsberger: ''Bilder vom Kommen Gottes. Dichter, Bilder und Botschaft der Adventslieder.'' Evangelischer Presseverband für Baden, Karlsruhe

992 Year 992 ( CMXCII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Worldwide * Winter – A superflare from the sun causes an Aurora Borealis, with visibility as far south as Germany and Korea. Euro ...

External links

* {{authority control Holiday songs lists