The third Sunday of Advent, its vestments rose: Christmas is near. Gaudete Sunday ( gow-DET-eh) is the third Sunday of Advent in the liturgical calendar of Western Christianity, including the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, Lutheran churches, and other mainline Protestant churches. It can fall on any date from 11 December to 17 December. Wiki link Dates computed from the General Roman Calendar. Text: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).