Advent 2026 begins on the evening of Saturday, November 28, and the first Sunday is November 29. The season runs four Sundays, then Christmas, then a week that is still Christmas. The dates are fixed, but every year people get caught out by the Immaculate Conception, the office closing, or the fact that the season does not end on December 25. Here is the plain map.
You will want to know when to go to confession, when to ask for a Mass intention, and why the last week before Christmas is a bad plan. The calendar is not complicated once you see it as a set of asks, not just a list of days.
The first Sunday of Advent is November 29, 2026. The second is December 6, the third is December 13, and the fourth is December 20. The third Sunday is Gaudete Sunday, the one with the rose candle. It is a small break in the violet, a Sunday that says the Lord is near. If you have an Advent wreath at home, that is the week to let the rose candle burn a little longer.
Each Sunday asks something of you. The first asks you to wake up. The second asks you to prepare a road. The third asks you to rejoice even while you are still waiting. The fourth asks you to say yes, as Mary did. The readings and the prayers are doing that work, Sunday by Sunday, and the wreath at home is meant to follow along.
Advent 2026 opens Year B, the year of Mark. The four Sunday gospels are Mark 13, Mark 1, John 1, and Luke 1. On the first Sunday you hear Mark 13, the long speech about watching, because you do not know when the master is coming. On the second Sunday it is Mark 1, with John the Baptist in the wilderness, a voice crying out to prepare the way.
On the third Sunday, Gaudete, the gospel is John 1, with the priests and Levites asking John who he is. He is not the Christ, not Elijah, not the prophet. He is a voice. On the fourth Sunday it is Luke 1, the Annunciation, the angel and Mary, and her yes. The four gospels are a kind of road map for the four weeks.
The vestments are violet, except on Gaudete Sunday, when the rose is allowed. The Gloria is omitted on the Sundays of Advent, but it is sung on feasts and solemnities that fall in the season, such as the Immaculate Conception on Tuesday, December 8. The Advent preface is used, and the wreath is blessed at the first Mass of the season, usually at the vigil on Saturday evening or at the Sunday Masses.
The O Antiphons begin on December 17 and run through December 23. They are the ancient verses that call on Wisdom, Lord, Root of Jesse, Key of David, Rising Sun, King of Nations, and Emmanuel. You will hear them at Evening Prayer, and they are the reason the last week of Advent has a different tone. The season is not just a countdown; it is a set of names for the one who is coming.
The Immaculate Conception is Tuesday, December 8, and it is a holy day of obligation. In the US, it is not transferred, so you need to plan for it. Christmas Eve is Thursday, December 24, and Christmas Day is Friday, December 25. The Holy Family is Sunday, December 27. Mary Mother of God is Friday, January 1, 2027, and Epiphany is Wednesday, January 6, 2027. In most US dioceses, Epiphany is celebrated on the Sunday between January 2 and January 8, so check your parish bulletin.
The practical ask is simple: look at the week of December 6 now, not later. The Immaculate Conception falls on a Tuesday, which means a weekday Mass, probably in the evening. The Christmas schedule will be in the bulletin by the second Sunday of Advent, December 6, so that is the weekend to pick your Masses.
Go to confession before the third week of December. Many parishes hold a penance service with several priests, often in the second or third week of Advent, and that is the easiest time to go. The last week before Christmas is a bad plan because the lines are long, the schedule is crowded, and the parish office is trying to close. If you wait until December 23, you may find only one priest and a full church.
Ask for a Mass intention before December 24. The parish office shuts between Christmas and New Year, and the staff need time to record the intention and schedule the Mass. If you want a Mass said for a family member on Christmas or during the octave, settle it by the second or third Sunday of Advent. The same goes for paperwork, certificates, and any request that needs a signature.
Lessons and Carols is usually a Sunday evening in the second or third week, often December 6 or 13. It is not a Mass, but it is one of the best ways to hear the readings of the season. If your parish has one, put it on the calendar now, because it is easy to miss.
The Rorate Mass is a morning Mass by candlelight, usually celebrated during Advent, often on a Saturday before dawn. It is quiet, and it is short on light. The Mass at midnight on Christmas Eve is a different thing entirely: the church is full, the lights are on, and the baby is laid in the manger. One is waiting in the dark; the other is the arrival. Both are real, and both ask you to show up.
After December 25, the season is not over. The octave of Christmas runs through January 1, and the Christmas season lasts until the Baptism of the Lord, which in 2027 falls on Monday, January 11. The days between Christmas and New Year are still Christmas, even if the culture has moved on. The lights can stay up. The creche can stay out. The season asks you to keep the feast, not pack it away on December 26.
✝ Offer this intention at the altar
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Advent 2026 begins on the evening of Saturday, November 28. The first Sunday of Advent is November 29. The season runs four Sundays, ending on December 24.
Yes. The Immaculate Conception falls on Tuesday, December 8, 2026, and it is a holy day of obligation in the United States. You need to attend Mass that day.
Christmas Eve is Thursday, December 24, 2026. Christmas Day is Friday, December 25, 2026. The Holy Family is Sunday, December 27.
The Rorate Mass is an Advent Mass celebrated in the early morning by candlelight. It is named for the opening words of the Introit, 'Rorate caeli,' and it is a quiet way to keep watch in the dark before Christmas.
Go before the third week of December. Many parishes hold a penance service with several priests in the second or third week of Advent. The last week before Christmas is crowded and the schedule is tight.
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