Advent Calendar: Tuesday of the First Week – The Advent Wreath

“The powers of Heaven shall be moved. And then they shall see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with great power and majesty.” – Gospel for Sunday (Lk. 21: 16-27)

My Advent wreath this year is rather humble, but that does not diminish the beautiful symbolism of this tradition. As a child, I watched in wonder over the weeks as the candles diminished one after the other – the candle from the first Sunday being shorter than all the rest! (which frustrated my desire for symmetry!) A frequent question of mine was, “When can we light the ‘pink’ candle?”

In my family, we only lit the candles of our advent wreath during the rosary. However, when I visited in Germany during Advent, instead of having candles of varying colors, all four candles were red and, from my observation, large and wide rather than tapered. This allowed for the candles to last much longer – and be lit during every meal, snack and coffee break with friends! This way we kept the spirit of Adventszeit throughout the day – and replaced red candles as necessary!

I hope that as these gentle lights increase one by one and bring more light to our home, that more and more light is brought into our souls as we await the coming of the light of the world.

– by Jane Carver