I remember lighting the Advent wreath every Sunday in Advent with my parents and sister when I was a little girl. Each Sunday evening after we were home from church activities, we would gather around the dining room table, and take turns lighting the candles. After we said our Advent prayer, dad would usually head to the piano and start playing Christmas carols. My sister and I would stand near him and sing along, and mom would usually sneak up on us to film us and then send the tape to my grandparents in Missouri.
Now a woman in her twenties, I am married and am starting Christmas traditions with my husband. When we were married in 2007, we received several Christian gifts. Two of them were Advent wreaths. One is silver, and with each candle is a verse from “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.” The candle colors are three purple and one pink. We were also given a German Advent candle holder, which is wooden (as was the first modern Advent wreath built in Hamburg) and horizontal, rather than circular. It holds four little red candles. I added a small votive holder in the middle of our silver wreath to hold a white votive candle, which is to be lit on Christmas Eve. Each Sunday evening, my husband and I will light the candles singing “Light One Candle to Watch For Messiah” out of the Lutheran Book of Worship. (You could sing any Christmas hymn, really…but this one is our favorite. You could even say a prayer if you wish.) This is a tradition we plan to continue when we have children down the road.
Maybe this year, you’ll start this tradition with your family (if you haven’t already.) Advent wreaths come in all shapes and sizes, and you can choose which colored candles to use based on what they symbolize (see previous Advent wreath article.) You can even make your own Advent wreath with your children. Just go to a local craft store and buy a pre-formed evergreen wreath. You can decorate it with lovely ribbon or strands of beads, or even display figures from your nativity set around it. Place four votive cup holders around the inside of the wreath using purple, red or blue votive candles. Place one votive holder in the very center to hold a white candle to light on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Then, every Sunday evening gather your family around the table and light the candles. Share the significance of each candle, and ask one of the children to say a short prayer or sing a verse of a Christmas hymn together. “O Come O Come Emmanuel” is well known and would be appropriate for this.
If you have the tradition of using an Advent calendar, consider placing a daily bible verse in the little cubes instead of candies. My husband and I were recently at a store looking at a display of Advent calendars. A man stood next to us, picked one up and asked what the little doors were for. My husband and I tried to explain that children open a little wooden door every day until Christmas. This helps them count the days until Jesus’ comes. He asked what was to be put inside. I began, “They are sometimes filled with a little treat…” and he cut me off saying, “Just what we need. Something else to make us fat!” I was going to continue with the idea of the bible verses on a tiny folded slip of paper, but he sneered and walked away before I could finish. Some folks just can’t seem to find CHRIST in CHRISTmas. I know you can. Starting these traditions and keeping them alive are powerful building blocks for your children to establish a personal relationship with our Savior. If you don’t have kids, or they no longer live with you, have this as a household tradition anyway! It certainly won’t hurt your relationship with Christ, and it just might encourage you to slow down and reflect on the anticipation of the coming of Jesus.
If you don’t have an Advent calendar, you can certainly make your own with poaster board. Cut out twenty-five little windows…five across and five down. Leave them hinged on the left hand side to create little doors. Glue a seperate piece of poster board to the back of the piece with the windows. In each square, write a dailt activity or bible verse for your children to enjoy, and you to enjoy with them. Decorate it as you see fit using glitter or ribbon.
Advent wreaths make beautiful gifts. Whether you make it yourself or buy it, you are giving a gift that means something and will continue to do so always. To purchase a beautiful Advent wreath, go to www.christianbook.com and type “Advent wreaths” in the search field. You are sure to find something beautiful and affordable.
