Lighting The Advent Candles Ceremony

The season of advent has been set aside as a time of preparation since the 6th century.

Lighting the advent candles ceremony.

This is written for that tradition using scriptures for the day from the revised common lectionary. The final candle is lit either on christmas or christmas eve and is known. Each week during advent a new candle is lit until all the candles burn on christmas or christmas eve. Advent is also a time for preparing for christ s second.

The following text then is one way of approaching the advent candle lighting ceremony in worship each week. This year as we prepare for christmas we will also have the lighting an advent wreath. The advent wreath is a circle of greenery with three purple candles and one pink candle on the perimeter and one white christ candle in the center. The meaning of the advent wreath ceremony.

The wreath as a circle expresses god s eternity. The evergreen symbolizes god s unchangeableness. Many churches and families light advent candles to mark the progression toward the birth of christ. Lighting the advent wreath advent candles advent comes from the latin word adventus meaning coming advent begins the church year starting four sundays before christmas.

The four candles lit during advent are traditionally blue or purple. We will light a candle each week for the next four sundays to prepare our hearts for christmas. Lighting the advent wreath in the tradition of hope peace joy and love many churches are used to lighting candles of hope peace joy and love. In places where the tradition is to use families to light the advent wreath it is advised that.

The tradition reaches back to pre christian northern europeans.