Advent 

Advent is the start of the Christian Year and runs from the fourth Sunday before Christmas to the end of Christmas Eve. This year it starts on November 30th. 

Advent is a time of expectation and hope filled with rich traditions. Advent means arrival or coming and it prompts us to pause each day in December and remember why Jesus came at Christmas. 

One of the Advent traditions is the Advent Wreath. It is thought that the advent wreath first appeared in Germany in 1839. A Lutheran minister working at a mission for children created a wreath out of a cartwheel. He placed twenty small red candles and four large white candles inside the ring. The red candles were lit on weekdays and the four white candles were lit on Sundays.

Eventually, the advent wreath was created of evergreens, symbolising everlasting life in the midst of winter and death as the evergreen is continuosly green. The circle reminds us of God's unending love and the eternal life He makes possible. Additional decorations, like holly and berries are sometimes added. The red colour of the berries points to Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, shedding His blood for our sins

(Crosswalk.com).

For more information about the candles wait patiently for the reflection on the 7th December on the Advent Calendar.

Click on the advent prayers page to be taken to prayers for each of the Sundays in Advent.