How to Light an Advent Wreath

Advent marks the coming or arrival of the Christ child. The observance begins four Sundays before the arrival of Christmas and continues until the Sunday before Christmas. Lighting the candles on an Advent wreath can be a meaningful part of your family's religious Christmas celebration.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Book Of Advent Prayers
• Book Of Christmas Carols
• Devotional Readings
• Candleholders
• Candles
• Evergreens Boughs
• Matches
• Candles
• Matches

1. Make an Advent wreath (See "How to Make an Advent Wreath.")

2. Lay the wreath on a flat surface and anchor four candles securely in the base of the wreath. Tradition says three of the candles are violet (or purple), and the fourth is rose, but these days various colors of candles are used, or all the candles can be the same color.

3. Begin on the first Sunday of Advent, which is four Sundays before Christmas. Choose a time for your family to all be together, possibly before or after an evening meal.

4. Sing carols, read the scriptures or recite a brief blessing or prayer as you light the candles.

5. Light one candle on the first Advent Sunday, two candles on the second, three candles on the third, and all four candles on the Sunday before Christmas.

Tips & Warnings

• If you're selecting your own candle colors, choose colors that are significant to you; for example, white for purity or light, and other colors to represent hope, faith or joy.
• Variations on the theme include adding a fifth candle in the center of the wreath and lighting all five candles on Christmas Eve or Christmas day.
• Children may wish to light candles, but should be closely supervised around matches or fire.
• Make sure the candles are secure in small holders so they don't fall over. Be especially careful of the flames if the evergreens begin to dry out.

[Saimon]

on 5/31/2008 I surfed all the web till found the best searcher. Films, picts, mp3’s, videos and lots more at http://megauploadfiles.com/

on 11/22/2005 When you make the wreath, place it on a round table (these are cheaply available for bedside tables in many hardware or department stores), and tie long, curly ribbons in bows around the base of each candle (purple for the purple candles and rose for the rose candle). The ribbons should hang down over the edge of the table and curl. The length of the ribbons represent our tears of sorrow for our sins, and the bows and curls represent the confusion caused by sin.
Purple and rose are traditional for a reason: the purple candles represent the darkness of sin, the rose represents hope.
You would light one purple candle on the first Sunday of Advent and at the beginning or end of each evening meal of that week as you do Scripture readings, pray, and sing. This is a good time to be teaching the children all the verses to O Come O Come, Emmanuel which are the O Antiphons of the last 7 days before Christmas.
On the second Sunday of Advent and each evening of that week, you light the first purple candle and the purple candle that is across the wreath from the first.
On the third Sunday of Advent and all the evenings of that week, you light the rose candle along with the other two. The rose signifies joyous anticipation of the Saviour Who was first promised by God to Adam and Eve in the Garden after the fall.
On the fourth Sunday and all the days until Christmas, you light all four candles, and during the seven days before Christmas you sing first the first, then the second, then the third, of the O Antiphons of O Come O Come Emmanuel.