The Wreath

While my husband and I have been lighting the candles on the Advent Wreath since Sunday, we have been moving it back and forth from one place to another until now, because it's normal resting place, the dining room table, has been covered with papers concerning my husband's recent (yesterday) retirement. Today, I was finally able to put it in it's proper place--not that I'm finished with the papers.

I've been thinking about why the Advent Wreath is so important to me, and I guess it is because we had one in my home when I was little. I don't remember how many years we had a wreath, in fact, I wonder if we only did it once. At any rate, I'm pretty sure that it was the only prayerful thing--aside from going to Mass--that we ever did in association with Christmas.

Since I first learned about the Advent Wreath in my Catholic family, I always assumed that it was originally a Catholic tradition, but no, it originated in the Lutheran Church, and was eventually adopted by Catholics. There is a great variety of style in Advent Wreaths. There don't seem to be any official requirements except that it be round--it is a wreath, after all--and that there are four candles. Traditionally in the Catholic Church, there are three purple candles, and one pink (rose, really), one for each week of Advent. The colors mirror the colors of the vestments that the priest wears on the Sundays of Advent. The purple is for penitence, and the rose is for joy, and is worn on the third Sunday, Gaudete (Latin for Rejoice) Sunday, because we are halfway through our time of waiting.

Also traditionally, there is some kind of greenery on the wreath--it is a wreath, after all--but now many people use just plain wood or ceramic wreaths. We have always used holly, or, because I am lazy, artificial holly, but many people use other kinds of evergreens, and some add flowers and ribbons, and other things. Our wreath is simple, because I prefer it that way. In the midst of all the preparation for Christmas, I want there to be a quiet, uncomplicated space.

The reason I like holly is that somewhere along the way, I learned certain questions about the symbolism of the wreath that I always asked the children before we lit the first candle.

Why is this wreath round?
Because it represents God, Who has no beginning and no end.

Why do we have these green leaves?
Because green is the color of hope. We are waiting in joyful hope for the coming of our Saviour.

Why do the leaves have little thorns?
To remind us of the nails that pierced Jesus's hands and feet.

Why these red berries?
To remind us of the blood that he shed for us.

Why purple?
Because we repent during Advent.

Why pink/rose?
Because we are rejoicing that we are halfway through our waiting.

Then my husband would say a simple prayer blessing the wreath, and I would light the candle, and we all said a short prayer, and sang Advent songs. Often when the children were young, we would have some sort of craft or activity.

Now that there are only the two of us, I don't ask the questions, but we light the candles and pray and sometimes sing. We are also watching a series of Advent reflections.

Oh, and the bowl. I started putting that in the center one year when I was reading Caryll Houselander's wonderful book, The Reed of God. If you are interested in what that is about, I wrote about it here.

AMDG