Our Advent machine embroidery designs give each of the seven Great O Antiphons its own symbol. They are O Sapientia, Wisdom from on high; O Adonai, the burning bush; O Radix Jesse, the stump of Jesse blossoming into a rose; O Clavis David, the Key of David; O Oriens, the Dayspring, the rising sun; O Rex Gentium, the crowned King of the Nations; and O Emmanuel, God with us, the manger with the Messianic Rose. Each antiphon has a rondel, a round medallion about 3.5 or 6 inches across, and most have a second, larger version of their symbol, such as the Key of David, the Rex Gentium crown, the stump of Jesse in flower and the Ave Maria. An Advent candle design in two halves, two purple candles on one side and a rose and a purple on the other, is made for a stole, a Bible marker or a pulpit fall.
Every design comes in DST, EXP, HUS, PCS, PES and XXX, and many in JEF, VIP or VP3 as well. Our Advent stoles, Advent banners and Great O Antiphon paraments carry the same symbols, so a parish can embroider a matching veil, burse or fall. For crosses and church symbols, see the machine embroidery collection; for Lent, the Lent designs.
Questions about the Advent designs
What are the Great O Antiphons?
The Great O Antiphons are the seven antiphons sung before the Magnificat at Vespers on the seven days before Christmas Eve, each beginning with O and a title of Christ drawn from the prophets. The hymn O Come, O Come, Emmanuel paraphrases them, and read backward their initials spell the Latin ero cras, tomorrow I will be there.
Which size of Advent rondel suits a stole?
The 3 or 3.5 inch rondel sits at the chest or hem of a stole and on a burse; the 6 inch versions suit a chalice veil, a pulpit fall or the orphrey of a chasuble.
