Each Christmas season, your family gathers around to put up the Advent wreath. You adorn it with holly berries, leaves, seeds, and even pinecones. You then carefully place the Advent candles around the wreath and wait until the coming Sunday to light the first one. While you know that this is an important part of the Christmas tradition, you've always wondered what the candles actually mean.

A Bit Of History

Advent comes from the Latin word adventus which means "coming" or "arrival." For many, this coming represents the arrival of Jesus Christ on Christmas Day. The Advent season leading up to Christmas represents celebration, excitement, and hope. While younger members of the family may be counting down the days until they can open presents, you're probably eagerly awaiting a very special and holy day.

The tradition goes back quite a ways. Some historians say it started in the 4th or 5th century while the wreath itself can be traced back to around 1839. A story has it that a Lutheran minister created a makeshift wreath out of the wheel of a cart and placed a number of candles, both red and white, within the wheel. On weekdays, he lit the white candles and on Sundays, he lit the red ones. It was a way to keep a countdown of the days until Christmas. Of course, you likely don't use the wheel from a cart for your wreath, rather some evergreen branches. This developed as a way to emphasize how life goes on across all of the seasons.

The Candles

Of course, while the wreath is incredibly important, so are the candles for Advent. Many families view the lighting of each candle as a weekly celebration in the period leading up to Christmas. The lighting is often accompanied by a special family meal as well. Depending on your specific traditions, the number of candles you use may vary. Most commonly, there are four Advent candles for the four Sundays leading up to Christmas. Sometimes, there will even be a fifth white candle placed in the center of the wreath. This fifth candle is lit on Christmas Day.

The color of the candles can vary too but, for the four-candle setup, there are commonly three purple candles and one reddish or pinkish candle. The first, second, and fourth candles will be purple and the third is a different color. The purple candles represent a time of prayer, penance, and worship. The reddish or pinkish candle represents joy and happiness. If your family uses the fifth, white candle, this color symbolizes purity since Christ is sinless and clean.

Many Traditions

Depending on your faith, your family, and your beliefs, you may have a completely different Advent setup. Some families hold to the tradition of lighting a candle each day to keep with older traditions and history. Others purchase one large candle that they light every day, up to and including Christmas. It's also common practice for many churches to light Advent candles each Sunday during daytime or evening mass services. The numbers of candles vary, as can their colors, but the most important thing is that they are lit.

Advent is celebrated by countless cultures and communities. Regardless of traditions and beliefs, the lighting of Advent candles symbolizes faith and the joy of Christmas. It's a beautiful practice for all believers to take the time to reflect upon their faith, enjoy moments spent with their family, and to worship the coming of Jesus Christ. While the presents on Christmas Day are plenty of fun, so are these special traditions that bring believers together.