Advent 2026 · Western Christian
Advent 2026, one prayer at a time.
Four Sundays of waiting before Christmas. Count the Lord’s Prayer and the Glory Be each day, in your browser or in Japa on iPhone and Apple Watch.
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The Western season, from the first Sunday of Advent to Christmas Eve. Many Eastern churches keep a forty-day Nativity Fast from mid-November instead. Advent dates to 2030.
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Online Advent prayer counter
Count today’s, right here.
Choose a prayer and tap the dial once for each time you say it. The dial is set to the day’s count Japa suggests for Advent. No account or download.
Changing practice starts a new count.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
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With the dial focused: Space, Enter or ↑ to count; ↓ to undo.
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The practices Japa keeps through Advent
- The Lord's Prayer 3 a day
- Glory Be 3 a day
Neither prayer is counted on beads, so the dial above is simply the day’s three.
The daily counts are Japa’s suggestions, not a rule of the season. Change them, or keep the prayers you were taught instead.
How Advent is kept
Four Sundays
Advent begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas (29 November in 2026) and ends on Christmas Eve, so it is four weeks long in some years and a little under in others. In 2026 it is twenty-six days.
A wreath of candles
In many homes and churches one more candle is lit on an Advent wreath each Sunday, and the readings turn to waiting and preparation. Customs differ from church to church and family to family.
A sheet for the fridge
The printable Advent 2026 tracker lists the twenty-six days with each day's reflection title and circles to tick for the prayers, as a free PDF in A4 and US Letter.
East and West
Many Eastern churches keep the Nativity Fast, forty days from mid-November, rather than Advent; the Ambrosian rite in Milan keeps six weeks.
Japa has not independently verified these dates against a published calendar. Check them against the calendar your own church keeps, such as the USCCB liturgical calendar.
Keep the season in Japa.
Japa has a free Advent programme, Advent, Waiting for the Light: twenty-six short original reflections, one a day from 29 November to 24 December 2026, with the Lord’s Prayer and the Glory Be counted three times a day. Its days turn over on US Eastern time, and it is in English only.
Advent is also in Japa’s holy-days calendar. Add it and the same two prayers come to Today at three a day each, from 29 November until Christmas Eve, then step back when the season ends. Your own history is never touched.
Counting in the programme is free, with no purchase or saved-practice slot needed. Unlimited counting, the built-in collection, Apple Watch and up to three saved practices are free too. Adding a holy day to Today, unlimited practices, your whole history and private iCloud sync are part of one optional Japa Lifetime purchase. Never a subscription.
Japa is made by Colin Sergay, an independent developer. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by any church, mosque, teacher or community.
Get Japa on the App StoreBefore you begin
When is Advent 2026?
In Western churches, Advent 2026 begins on Sunday 29 November and ends on Thursday 24 December, Christmas Eve. Many Eastern churches keep a forty-day Nativity Fast from mid-November instead.
Which prayers does Japa suggest for Advent?
The Lord’s Prayer and the Glory Be, three times a day each. The counts are Japa’s suggestion, not a rule of the season; change them or keep your own prayers.
Is there an Advent programme in the app?
Yes, from Japa 1.14: Advent, Waiting for the Light is a free programme with an original reflection for each of the twenty-six days, and the Lord’s Prayer and the Glory Be counted three times a day. Advent is also in Japa’s holy-days calendar, where adding it, part of Japa Lifetime, puts both prayers on Today until Christmas Eve.
Is the Advent counter free?
Yes. This browser counter is free and saves nothing. In the app, counting is unlimited and free on iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, and both prayers are in the free collection.