The Meaning Behind the Advent Candles

The Meaning Behind the Advent Candles

You may have noticed that around Christmas time, a wreath with candles appears on a stand in front of the church. Every Sunday during Advent there is a reading and a candle is lit. Unfortunately, this has become a tradition that is faithfully carried out but the meaning behind it is lost. Why do we light the candles at Advent?

The tradition of the wreath goes back to the 16th century when it was used by German Lutherans. The person credited with popularizing the wreath is Johann Hinrich Wichern who was a pastor in Germany in the 19th century. It remained a popular custom in Germany and began to be used in both Protestant and Catholic Services. The tradition is supposed not to have come to the United States until the 1930’s.

There is a lot of symbolism contained in the wreath. The wreath itself, being a perfect circle, represents God’s eternal reign. He is the Alpha and the Omega and a circle also has no beginning or end. Depending on what church you attend, you will slight variations in the color of the candles. Out church uses 3 purple candles and one pink candle. The pink candle is lit on the 3rd Sunday and represents joy.

The center candle (The Christ Candle) is white to represent the purity of Christ. Another symbol is that of light entering the world. We start advent with no candles lit and each week we add more and more light. This is to represent the light of the world coming down to earth and ending the darkness.

My hope is that now that you know the background, you will have a greater appreciation for this tradition. The Advent season is almost over now but this Sunday as you look at the wreath and hear the readings, this of God’s power as the Alpha and the Omega and how he chose to use that power to save us.



Sources:

http://www.umc.org/what-we-believe/what-do-the-candles-in-our-advent-wreath-mean

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advent_wreath