A lot of people start decorating for the holidays before
the Thanksgiving leftovers have been eaten... What about you? When are
you going to start putting up your holiday decorations this year?
Have started decorating since the first week of November^^...We should not forget to show our Jesus in a manger and the Advent wreath.....
Advent
and The Advent Wreath
Advent is a
season that begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas,
when the Church commemorates the centuries of waiting for the arrival of the Savior promised to the Jews in the Old Testament. For
Christians, the season of Advent is a time of quiet meditation in
preparation for the Christmas celebration in honor of the birth of
Jesus.
Each of the four weeks before
Christmas in churches, and in many homes, candles will be lit on an Advent wreath.
The history of using a lighted wreath of greens to celebrate the anticipation of the birth of Christ dates to
the 9th century AD, when Christians adopted the candle-lit wreath as a symbol of the new faith.
The circle is an ancient symbol, used by
many ancient cultures to symbolize eternity. The evergreen branches are also
ancient symbols for eternal life. Christians took these ancient symbols and
"baptized" them, giving them Christian meanings. The candles symbolized Christ, the Light of the World.
Together, the Advent wreath then, is a message, that symbolizes Christ, the
Eternal Light of the World.
By the 16th century Christians, both Catholic and Protestant, throughout Europe commonly used these symbols to celebrate their
hope in Christ.
Homes, churches, and public buildings all across Europe used Advent
wreathes.
Traditionally, the Advent wreath is made of four candles in a circle of
evergreens. Three of the candles are purple, and one is pink (rose).
Each day the candles are lighted, perhaps before the evening meal- one
candle the first week, and then adding another each succeeding week,
until December 25th.
Purple, symbolizes penitence (sorrow for wrong-doing) and humility. Advent is a time of
solemn preparation for the Feast of Christmas - the dawn of new
Light in the world and the fulfillment of Hope, with the birth of
Jesus. Although most people tend to equate the Christmas season with
joy and anticipation, during our Advent reflections we pray and
meditate on the reasons
why God had to send us a Savior. Thus, Advent is actually seen as a "penitential" season.
Rose
symbolizes joy. The rose colored
(pink) candle is burned beginning with the third week of Advent to
symbolize the "half-way" point in the dark time of waiting. The third
Sunday of Advent is called "Gaudete
Sunday". Gaudete is the Latin word for "joy," and on Gaudete Sunday we
focus on our anticipatory joy in the coming of our Savior.
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