What is an Advent candle? The period before Christmas is called Advent in the Christian calendar, It is a time of anticipation and of reflection, as the promise of a joyous event. For many people, this time, which includes the WInter Solstice and other festivals, is also about candles and the importance of light at the darkest time of the year.
And whilst many will be focussed on the treats behind their advent calendar windows, for others, it is as much or more about lit candles, specifically the Advent candle. On this, the last day of Advent, I thought I’d revisit the theme.
Lighting advent candles on each of the 4 Sundays leading up to Christmas forms part of the festivities, mainly but not solely Christian. There are some variations to the “ceremony” surrounding this but one of the most frequently used involves an Advent candle ring or ‘crown’
The Advent candle crown has 4 candles, often surrounding a larger central candle. On the first Sunday of Advent, one of the surrounding candles is lit for the duration of the ceremony or meal. Then on the second Sunday of Advent, it is relit and a second candle also lit. And so on through each of the four Sundays of Advent, with the number of lit candles increasing as we get closer to Christmas Day itself.
Then on Christmas Day, the four candles and the central candle (if there is one) are all lit. For Christians this signifies that Jesus, the light of the World has been born. But you don’t have to be a Christian to enjoy the symbolism of candles being lit at this dark time of the year (in the Northern hemsphere). Now we have less practical need of the illumination provided by candles, there is something comforting in the tradition of lighting them as dusk falls on a short winter’s day.
