The Advent Wreath
The Advent Wreath is made of a circle of evergreen branches laid flat to symbolize eternal life. Four candles (traditionally red) stand in the circle and each one represents one of the four Sundays of Advent. In the center of the circle is a fifth candle (traditionally white), the Christ Candle. One candle is lit every Sunday of Advent so that during the last week before Christmas all four candles are lit. The last central candle is lit on Christmas Day.
Candles on the Advent Wreath symbolise the light of God coming into the world through the birth of His son, Jesus.
Four traditional advent themes for the four advent Sundays are:
The Candle of Hope: We celebrate the hope we have in Jesus Christ.
The Candle of Peace: We celebrate the peace we find in Jesus Christ.
The Candle of Love: We celebrate the love we have in Jesus Christ.
The Candle of Joy: We celebrate the joy we find in Jesus Christ.
The fifth candle represents the birth of Christ. The flame reminds us that He is the light of the world and that if we follow Him, we will never walk in darkness, but will have the true light of life.
