One of the most common Advent Traditions is the Advent wreath, which is far from just another Christmas decoration. This is actually a fairly new tradition as traditions go. However, I think, it's a good one as it provides many teaching moments. Having an Advent wreath in our home has been helpful to my family as we track the weeks leading up to Christmas, as a new candle is lit each week. The anticipation grows with the brightness of the wreath. We typically light our Advent wreath during evening devotion time. An Advent wreath is is jam packed with simple symbolism which helps to keep us focused on Christ the light of the world during this season of waiting.
The shape of the Advent wreath being circular reminds us that God is eternal and His love is never ending. When Christ returns we will enter into eternal life with Him.
The greenery can have many connections. Jesus is the Tree of Life, who gives new life though his death and resurrection. The color green is also the color of growth reminding us that as God's children we continue to grow in His Word.
There are a few different traditions surrounding the four candles. Most often the candles are three purple and one pink. Purple is the color of royalty point to Jesus as king. It is also the color of repentance. I like the connection this can give to the season of Lent, however while Advent is somber it is not nearly as somber as Lent. Yet, the connection is nice as it helps turn our eyes to the humble suffering of Emmanuel who took on flesh to suffer in our place. You may also find blue candles, which represents hope.
There are several traditions surrounding which each individual candle represents. The most popular is that they represent hope, peace, joy, and love. Because these words have sort of different connotations in our culture it's important to discuss how we have these gifts of hope, peace, joy, and love in Jesus. Here's a suggestion of Bible verses you could use when lighting each candle each week.
Hope: Romans 15:12-13
Peace: Isaiah 9:6-7
Joy: Psalm 51:10-12
.jpg)
The center candle of the wreath (if you have one) is finally lit on Christmas. Our family counties to light all five candles though the 12 days of Christmas, leading up to Epiphany a season that takes the emphasis of Jesus as the light of the world even further.
This year we have also added a little twist to our wreath. As we learn the hymn 'Oh Come Oh Come Emmanuel' we add symbols to the wreath that we sing about in the hymn, such as a crown signifying Christ as the crown of wisdom.
If you don't have an Advent wreath yet, that's okay, it's not to late to start one. I've always made ours, as the store bought ones can be costly. When the kids were very little and tempted to touch the flames I used small jar candles I found at the Dollar Store. For the color I tied ribbon around the outside of the jar. Using a charger as a base has proved to be handy also. It keeps everything altogether and is easy to move about if need be. This year I used small glass candle holders and arranged them in a circle on the charger, then I hot glued them down. I filled in the space with green garland that I cut into just the right size pieces, which I also hot glued down as best I could. You can also find patterns for paper Advent wreaths or punch out cards that fold in to a wreath. Though I think these are actually more of a hassle as they tend to sort of flop about. However, it is totally fine to keep the project simple. Remember the wreath it's self is meant to be an aide to provide visual teaching moments keeping us focused on the anticipation of celebrating the coming of Christ our Savior.
Continued Advent blessings!
As always please feel free to share this with your friends.
If you missed the previous posts in this little series:
No comments:
Post a Comment