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The
symbolism of the Advent wreath is beautiful. The
wreath is made of various evergreens, signifying continuous
life. Even these evergreens have a traditional meaning which can
be adapted to our faith: The laurel signifies victory over
persecution and suffering; pine, holly, and yew, immortality;
and cedar, strength and healing. Holly also has a special
Christian symbolism: The prickly leaves remind us of the crown
of thorns, and one English legend tells of how the cross was
made of holly. The circle of the wreath, which has no beginning
or end, symbolizes the eternity of God, the immortality of the
soul, and the everlasting life found in Christ. Any pine cones,
nuts, or seedpods used to decorate the wreath also symbolize
life and resurrection. All together, the wreath of evergreens
depicts the immortality of our soul and the new, everlasting
life promised to us through Christ, the eternal Word of the
Father, who entered our world becoming true man and who was
victorious over sin and death through His own passion, death,
and resurrection.
The wreath is always in the form of a circle.
Since a circle has no beginning and no end, it is a symbol for
God, Who is eternal and without beginning or end.
The Advent wreath is always made from evergreens.
These branches, as the name indicates, are "ever
green" -- ever alive. They are symbolic of Christ,
Who died, but Who is alive, never to die again. The
evergreen branches also symbolize our soul's immortality.
Christ came into the world to give us never-ending life.
Entwined around the circle of evergreens are red holly
berries. They look like large red drops of blood, and
symbolize the blood shed by Christ for mankind. They
remind us that Christ came into this world to die for us and
redeem us. It is through the shedding of His blood that we
have eternal life.
The wreath has four candles, three violet ones and one
rose colored candle. These symbolize the four weeks of the
Advent season, our time of preparation for Christmas. Each
day, the Liturgy tells us of the Hebrew expectation of the
Messiah in the Old Testament reading, and the Gospels begin to
introduce us to the characters of the Christmas story. The
four candles represent the four weeks of Advent. A tradition is
that each week represents one thousand years, to sum to the
4,000 years from Adam and Eve until the Birth of the Savior.
Three candles are purple and one is rose. The purple candles in
particular symbolize the prayer, penance, and preparatory
sacrifices and goods works undertaken at this time. The rose
candle is lit on the third Sunday, Gaudete Sunday, when the
priest also wears rose vestments at Mass; Gaudete Sunday is the
Sunday of rejoicing, because the faithful have arrived at the
midpoint of Advent, when their preparation is now half over and
they are close to Christmas. The progressive lighting of the
candles symbolizes the expectation and hope surrounding our
Lord’s first coming into the world and the anticipation of His
second coming to judge the living and the dead.
The
light again signifies Christ, the Light of the world. Some modern
day adaptations include a white candle placed in the middle of the
wreath, which represents Christ and is lit on Christmas Eve. Another
tradition is to replace the three purple and one rose candles with
four white candles, which will be lit throughout Christmas season.
In family practice, the Advent wreath is most appropriately lit at
dinner time after the blessing of the food.
At the beginning of Advent a
single candle is lit, but each week another candle is lit. As
the light from the wreath increases each week as more candles are
lit, the wreath reminds us that the birth of the Light of the World
is coming closer. So may our souls grow brighter in their love
for, and anticipation of, the Christ Child as this season of grace
continues.
The color of the four candles also has significance. The violet
candles have a penitential appearance, much as we find violet in the
church during the penitential season of Lent. The violet is to
remind us that Advent is a season of preparation in which we should
be spiritually preparing our souls to receive Christ on Christmas.
The single rose colored candle is lit on the third Sunday of
Advent, which is called "Gaudete" Sunday. "Gaudete"
is the Latin word for "rejoice", and symbolizes an element
of rejoicing in the midst of our penitential preparation, for the
joy of Christmas is almost here. The rose color is made by
mixing violet with white. It is almost as if the joy we
celebrate at Christmas (symbolized by bright white) cannot contain
itself during this penitential season (violet) and burst forth a bit
into the Advent season. On Christmas, the four candles are
replaced with white ones -- our time of preparation is over
and we enter a time of great joy.
At the base of each candle, or in the wreath itself, there should be
a blue bowl. This blue is to remind us of the Virgin
Mary, the Mother of God, who bore Him in her womb and brought Him
forth into our world on Christmas.
The Advent wreath should be placed in a
prominent place in our church. Many families have a smaller
Advent wreath in their homes. This both reminds families of
the wreath in their church and serves as a reminder of their link to
the parish church. The candles are lit at the main meal of the
day, with the new candle lit preferably at the main meal on Sunday,
the first day of the new week. Joining around the table for a
meal should remind the family of the table of the Lord around which
they gather each week to celebrate the Eucharist -- the meal of the
Lord that nourishes our soul.
So, the next time you see or display an Advent wreath, don't just
think of it as a nice decoration. Remember all the symbolism
it has for us as it reminds us of the need for spiritual preparation
to fully share in the great joy of the birth of Christ, the Son of
God Who gave His life for us so that we might have eternal life.
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