Advent candles: the order, the colors and what each one means

Light the first candle on Sunday, November 29, then one more each Sunday, so all four are burning on Sunday, December 20.

On Christmas Eve, Thursday, December 24, or on Christmas Day, light all four again with the white Christ candle in the center. Jesus, the light of the world, has come.

• PurpleThree Sundays of waiting
• PinkThe third Sunday, for joy
• BlueIn some churches, for hope
• WhiteThe Christ candle

Purple, or violet, is the color of Advent in many churches, as it is of Lent. Both seasons get us ready for a great feast, so purple stands for prayer, repentance and preparation, and many also see in it the purple of a king, fitting for weeks spent waiting for one.

The pink candle, often called rose, belongs to the third Sunday, Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete is Latin for “rejoice,” the first word of that Sunday's traditional entrance chant, taken from Philippians 4:4:

Halfway through the waiting the color lightens, because joy is close. Some churches, many Lutheran ones among them, use blue instead of purple, a color of hope that also sets Advent apart from Lent. Others use four red or four white candles. The colors help us remember; the light is what matters.

Many wreaths have a fifth candle in the center, white and usually taller. It stays dark through Advent and is lit on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, when the waiting is over. White is the church's color for Christmas, and the candle points to Jesus Himself:

Some churches leave the center candle out. If yours has one, Christmas Eve is the brightest moment of the season: every candle burning, and the one in the middle for Him.

Pray one as you light that week's candle, on your own or with the people at your table. Each one follows the story the Sunday Letter tells that week.

1. First Sunday: hope

   The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

   Lord, we light this first candle for hope. Like Zechariah and Elizabeth, we carry prayers we have prayed for years, and some we stopped praying. Hear them again tonight. You kept Your promise to people who walked in darkness, and You will keep Your promises to us. Teach us to wait with hope. In Jesus' name, amen.

   For Sunday, November 29, as you light the first purple candle.

2. Second Sunday: peace

   Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

   Prince of Peace, we light the second candle. Joseph lay down with a plan made in the dark, and You met him with “fear not.” Meet us in the decisions that keep us awake. Give us Your peace, not the kind the world gives, and the courage to get up and do what You say. Amen.

   For Sunday, December 6, as you light the second purple candle.

3. Third Sunday: joy

   For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.

   Lord, we light the pink candle for joy. When Mary came through Elizabeth's door, the baby leaped for joy. Thank You for the people who understand us and bless us instead of judging us. Make us that kind of friend this week, and fill our homes with joy that is shared. Amen.

   For Sunday, December 13, as you light the pink candle.

4. Fourth Sunday: love

   Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

   Father, we light the fourth candle for love. You did not wait for us to reach You. You sent Your Son, laid in a manger because there was no room, and announced Him first to shepherds working the night shift. Thank You for love that came so low. Help us carry it to someone this week. Amen.

   For Sunday, December 20, as you light the last purple candle.

You don't need a kit. One evening and a few things from around the house will do.

1. 1

   Start with a ring. A wire wreath form, a grapevine ring, or a round plate or tray will all do.

2. 2

   Add greenery. Pine, fir, cedar or rosemary, or faux branches that last the whole season. Evergreens stay green through winter, a picture of life that lasts.

3. 3

   Set four candles around the ring. Three purple and one pink, or the colors your church uses. Four white candles tied with ribbon in the week's color work too.

4. 4

   Put a white candle in the center, if you like, for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.

5. 5

   Light it each Sunday. Light the candles for the weeks so far, read a short passage and pray that week's prayer. Many families light it again at dinner through the week.

The modern wreath is usually traced to Johann Hinrich Wichern, a Lutheran pastor in Hamburg, Germany. In 1839 he set candles on an old cartwheel so the children in his care could count the days to Christmas: a small red candle for each weekday and a large white one for each Sunday.

For the readings, our Advent reading plan gives one short passage a day, and the free Advent Bible study has a reading, questions and a prayer for each Sunday, with the same four themes.

Questions about Advent candles

Each Advent Sunday the free Sunday Letter tells that week's story, one person at a time, with a verse, a short devotional and a prayer: Zechariah and Elizabeth on November 29, Joseph on December 6, Mary and Elizabeth on December 13 and the shepherds on December 20.