There I was, wandering around the Hallmark store, enjoying the solitude of shopping without my two and five-year olds in tow. I quickly found the birthday card I needed to buy and then walked around aimlessly. Suddenly a new quest came to mind: Blue! Advent! Candles! Found them. Bought them from the sweet elderly Hallmark lady. Took the candles home.
It was September and I was all set. I was so proud of myself. Contrast this to several years in a row when, before kids, my husband and I would realize on the Saturday evening before the first Sunday of Advent, “Oh no! We don’t have Advent candles to use at home! Acck! When can we get to the store?!” My husband and I are both Lutheran pastors. So we really had no excuse. In those years, the season started on the appointed Sunday at our churches. At home, we weren’t able to celebrate Advent in the way we wanted to until later in the week. We always pledged to think ahead the next year.
So, what is Advent? Why would it send two adults scrambling to buy blue candles in the midst of the Thanksgiving-Black Friday-oh no I’m behind on my Christmas shopping-and baking and crafting-season?
Advent is the four weeks leading up to Christmas. It’s a countdown to the birth of Christ. It always begins on a Sunday. This year, the first day of Advent is November 27. An Advent wreath is a meaningful way to slow down and mark the time approaching Christmas. It is usually a candle holder with spaces for four candles. A circle wreath represents eternity. It reminds us that the child about to be born will eventually die on the cross and then be resurrected to eternal life. Often people decorate their wreaths with greens from outdoors. Evergreens are a symbol of the never-ending faithfulness of God. Royal blue candles symbolize the humble baby in the manger who is the King of kings, and the deep, dark midnight that we endure until he comes to us.
On the first Sunday in Advent and all the days following, someone in the family lights one candle in the wreath. On the second Sunday, two candles are lit, and so on, until all four are lit during the week before Christmas. As the light grows brighter, the time of Jesus’ birth grows closer. Even young children can say a traditional Advent greeting as the candles are lit: “Come, Lord Jesus.”
On Christmased.com, I’ll be sharing more specific ways you can celebrate Advent at home each week, tell the Christmas story to your children, and savor the time leading up to December 25. If you’d like to observe Advent in your home this year, whatever your age or family situation, take some time this week to gather up a circular Advent wreath (or find four candle holders you can arrange in a circle) and candles. You want them to be tall enough to last for four weeks.
If you have a nativity set, get that out for Advent, too. Children enjoy hearing and telling the story of Jesus’ birth with all the characters playing their parts. You can set up the stable and empty manger and bring out the characters one by one to help build anticipation. If you only have a breakable nativity set and you want to get children involved in this spiritual preparation for Christmas, there are tons of child-friendly and durable nativity sets available. That cheesy set in the attic with the chipped paint and out-of-proportion shepherds works well for kids, too.
But let’s go back to my trip to the Hallmark store in September. Why did I get so excited to remember Advent candles before Halloween was even here? It’s because Advent is about the birth of Jesus. At the same time, the season helps me focus on Jesus’ promise that he will come back one day.
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the demands of children, work, finances, you name it. Sometimes we get discouraged by what we hear on the news or see in our communities. Advent helps me to look to God’s faithfulness in the past when Jesus was born for us and to remember that God continues to be faithful today. The season of Advent also gives me four weeks to focus on God’s promise to make the world right when Jesus returns in glory. While lighting the candles, I can pray, “Come, Lord Jesus” on behalf of everyone who longs for a better future.
Advent is a time of hope and expectation. Over the many years I’ve observed Advent as an adult, I’ve always experienced it as a gift. Lighting the candles and reflecting on what I’m hoping for, how I’m hoping things will be different once Jesus comes to earth, and how I’m hoping for God’s grace to enter my life and the lives of those I love are all a part of Advent for me.
What does Advent look like? A small light growing stronger and brighter as Christmas draws near. What does Advent sound like? My children, my husband and I saying, “Come, Lord Jesus” together as we light the flame. What does Advent feel like? It feels like breathing in crisp winter air, breathing in the hope of a Savior, and being filled with God’s peace and grace.
See you again here in a few days for specific ideas for the first Sunday in Advent. In the meantime, I’d love to hear about your Advent experiences. What does Advent mean to you?
Paige Evers is a Lutheran pastor, a mom to two young children, and the wife of a Lutheran pastor. On her first Christmas at one of the congregations she served, she accidentally broke one of the Wise Men. She thinks that cloth, plastic, and pastor-proof Nativity sets are a really good idea.
Christmased.com readers will be sharing an Advent readalong with short passages from the Bible, selections from the spiritual writer Henri J.M. Nouwen, a prayer, and an Advent Action to help you prepare for the Christ child in your heart.