We must restore hope to young people, help the old, be open to the future, spread love. Be poor among the poor. We need to include the excluded and preach peace. — Pope Francis

Is an Advent by any other name still an Advent? In many Eastern churches, the season of Advent goes by other names: St. Philip's Fast, The Nativity Fast, Winter Lent, and Christmas Lent. Like Western Advent, these are also seasons of preparation leading up to Christmas, but they more closely resemble Lent in that they typically last 40 days and are characterized by periods of fasting and abstinence.