“In” or “of”?

While it is not the great theological issue or faith debate of our time, there is frequently confusion as to how to refer to the days that make up this season.  Is today the second Tuesday “in” Advent or “of” Advent?

The days contained within the season of Advent – including Sundays -- are known as the days of Advent.  So, today is the Second Tuesday of Advent.  The season consists of the entirety of the period beginning on the Sunday seven weeks prior to Christmas day and runs through December 24, inclusive.

Some of the misunderstanding stems, I am sure, from the association some people make between Advent and Lent.  These two seasons have at times been regarded as mirror images of one another.  So, many Lenten practices get mentally associated – if not actually linked – with Advent.  The same sometimes occurs as Advent traditions find some kind of correlation within the Lenten observance.

The season of Lent comprises the forty days prior to Easter Day but is exclusive of Sundays.  Church tradition holds that it is inappropriate to practice fasting or self-denial on a Sunday, because that is the day in which Jesus’ Resurrection took place.  So, every Sunday throughout the year is a kind of “little Easter.”  In that light, the church refers to the Sundays that occur during that stretch as Sundays “in” (but not “of”) Lent.