Advent 2026 Bible Reading Plan, Day by Day to Christmas

Advent 2026 begins on Sunday, November 29 and ends on Thursday, December 24. This plan gives you one short Bible passage for each of those 26 days: the promises of Isaiah, the preaching of John the Baptist, and the birth stories in Luke 1–2 and Matthew 1–2, finishing with the opening of John's Gospel and the night in Bethlehem.

Most readings are under twenty verses. Five to ten minutes a day is enough.

What is Advent?

Advent is the season of preparation before Christmas, kept by Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Methodist, Reformed and many other Western churches. The word comes from the Latin adventus, which means coming or arrival.

The season looks in two directions. The Catholic Church's calendar norms describe Advent as a time of preparation for Christmas, when the first coming of Christ is remembered, and also a time when hearts are turned toward his coming again at the end of time. The Catechism says that by sharing in the long preparation for the first coming, the faithful renew their desire for the second (CCC 524).

That double focus explains the readings. Advent begins with prophets who wait in the dark, and only in its last week does it arrive at the manger.

When is Advent in 2026?

Advent begins on the Sunday that falls on or closest to November 30. In 2026 that is Sunday, November 29. The season ends on December 24, before the evening celebration of Christmas begins.

From November 29 to December 24 is 26 days. Christmas Day falls on a Friday.

In the Catholic calendar the last eight days, December 17 to 24, are set apart as a more direct preparation for the Nativity. This plan follows the same turn: from December 17 on, every reading comes from the Gospels' own account of the birth, with one prophecy from Isaiah beside it.

What do the four Sundays and candles mean?

The Advent wreath is a circle of greenery with four candles, one lit on each Sunday until all four are burning. A Vatican document on popular devotion describes the growing light as a sign of the stages of salvation history before Christ and of the prophets' light slowly brightening a long night.

The themes given to each candle are a custom, and they differ from church to church:

• Hope, peace, joy, love is the set many parishes and families use today.
• Some name the candles instead: the Prophecy candle, the Bethlehem candle, the Shepherds' candle and the Angels' candle.
• The United Methodist Church notes that the themes were first popularized by church suppliers in the order hope, love, joy, peace, and that they do not always match the readings heard in worship.

One Sunday has an old and stable name. The third Sunday is Gaudete Sunday, from the Latin for rejoice. Its candle is often rose instead of purple, and the tone of the season lightens. The reading for that day in this plan is Paul's call to rejoice (Philippians 4:4-7).

If your church uses different themes, follow your church. The readings below work with any of them.

How do Orthodox Christians prepare for Christmas?

The Orthodox Church does not keep Advent in the Western form. It keeps the Nativity Fast, a forty-day fast that runs from November 15 to December 24. It is also called St. Philip's Fast.

The Orthodox Church in America describes the pattern as modeled on the preparation for Pascha: a fast of forty days, with hymns on St. Andrew's Day (November 30) and St. Nicholas Day (December 6) that already announce the birth.

Orthodox churches that follow the old Julian calendar keep the same dates, which fall thirteen days later on the civil calendar. For them the fast runs from November 28, 2026 to January 6, 2027, and Christmas is celebrated on January 7.

If you are keeping the Nativity Fast on the new calendar, you can still use this plan. Read one of the Psalms of Ascent each day from November 15 to 28 (Psalms 120–133), then join the table on November 29. Your parish's own lectionary comes first; this plan is a companion to it, not a replacement.

The Advent 2026 reading plan, day by day

Read the passage once, slowly. Then read it again and stay with the line that holds your attention. If you would like a fuller method, Lectio Divina fits these short readings well.

Week 1: The promise (November 29 – December 5)

⁶For a child is born to us. A son is given to us; and the government will be on his shoulders. His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Week 2: Prepare the way (December 6 – 12)

³The voice of one who calls out,
“Prepare the way of Yahweh in the wilderness!
Make a level highway in the desert for our God. ⁴Every valley shall be exalted,
and every mountain and hill shall be made low.
The uneven shall be made level,
and the rough places a plain. ⁵Yahweh’s glory shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together;
for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken it.”

Week 3: Rejoice (December 13 – 19)

Week 4: The birth (December 20 – 24)

⁴⁶Mary said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord. ⁴⁷My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior, ⁴⁸for he has looked at the humble state of his servant.
For behold, from now on, all generations will call me blessed. ⁴⁹For he who is mighty has done great things for me.
Holy is his name.

On Christmas Eve, read Luke's account aloud if you can, alone or with the people in your house. It was written to be heard.

¹⁰The angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be to all the people. ¹¹For there is born to you today, in David’s city, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

After Christmas Day

Christmas is a season, not a single day. If you want to keep reading, the rest of the birth story is waiting:

Why does the plan begin with the prophets?

It can seem odd to spend the first week of a Christmas plan in books written centuries before Bethlehem. The Gospels themselves send you there. Matthew reads the birth of Jesus through Isaiah's sign of a child named Immanuel (Matthew 1:22-23). Mark opens with the voice in the wilderness (Mark 1:2-3), and Luke has Jesus begin his preaching in Nazareth by reading from the scroll of Isaiah (Luke 4:16-21).

Reading the promises first lets the birth stories land as they did for their first hearers, as the answer to a very long wait. It also keeps Advent honest. The season is for people who are still waiting for something, and the prophets give that waiting its words.

How do you use the plan day by day?

A plan only helps if it fits into an ordinary December. These steps keep it small enough to last.

1. Choose one time and one place. Before breakfast, on the train, or after the house is quiet. The same slot each day matters more than the length.
2. Read the passage twice. Once to follow what happens, once more slowly. Reading aloud helps.
3. Keep one line. Write it down or repeat it a few times so that you can carry it into the day.
4. Pray briefly. One honest sentence is enough. If you light an Advent candle, this is a natural moment for it.
5. Let missed days go. Start again with today's reading.

If daily reading is new to you, the habits in building a daily Bible reading habit apply here too, and where to start reading the Bible explains how these books fit together.

Emmaus includes a guided Advent journey as part of Emmaus+, with a reading and a prayer for each day of the season. The full text of the Bible in the app is free and works offline, so you can follow the table above there without a subscription.

What comes after Advent?

The next great season of preparation is Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday, February 10, 2027. When you are ready for it, there is a Lent 2027 reading plan built the same way: one passage a day, from the ashes to Easter morning.

For now, the task is simpler. Open Isaiah on November 29, and read five verses about walking in the light.