Instead of raucous holiday parties, some opt for a candlelit Advent season of longing and hope Sarah Pulliam Bailey Joanna Kretzer Chun, who lives in Washington, holds a Nativity scene from Peru as she participates in a Zoom call on Tuesday. (Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post) In the weeks leading up to Christmas, Joanna Kretzer Chun would bounce from church choir rehearsals to holiday parties around Washington. With the pandemic putting life on pause this year, Chun spends her nights lighting Advent candles nestled in a wreath in her living room. As many Americans remain home during the holiday season, some are choosing to replace the busyness of the season with traditions from the Christian season of Advent, such as opening a daily calendar with chocolate inside, lighting candles and singing hymns such as “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” The month-long period of Advent, which starts the fourth Sunday before Christmas, is meant to symbolize the period of anticipation for Jesus’ birth while reflecting on the brokenness of the world.