The Advent wreath is a powerful symbol that puts us in touch with all that we believe about the coming of Christ.
Take, for instance, its structure. Evergreen branches are woven together to form a circle, which has no beginning and no end. As such it becomes a powerful symbol both of the repeatable cycle of seasons of our lives as well as God’s everlasting life promised through Christ.
Likewise, the use of evergreen branches continues that message of enduring life, as it serves as a challenge to the barrenness of winter. Other symbols are often used to decorate the wreath, such as the addition of red ribbons or berries to represent the shedding of Christ’s blood.
The wreath is topped with four candles, lit progressively over the four weeks of Advent. Each week, as a new candle is lit, the light increases, providing a vivid metaphor for the patient anticipation of how the light of the Incarnation of the Son of God overcomes the darkness of sin and death.
Traditionally, each candle represents one of the themes of Advent: hope, peace, joy and love. The only candle singled out in this regard is the one lit on the third week, Gaudete Sunday. While the other candles are violet in keeping with Advent as a time of penance and preparation, this one is rose to symbolize joy.
In my home parish, I recall that a fifth white candle was placed in the center of the wreath placed before the altar during Advent. It remained unlit throughout the season, only to be lit at the beginning of Christmas Midnight Mass to proclaim Christ as “the light of the world,” who fulfilled all the prophecies.
The Advent wreath, rich in symbolism, serves as a visual catechism, guiding each of us in this season of expectation and hope to progressively move spiritually from the darkness of sin to the light of salvation offered in Christ.
I invite families to consider placing an Advent wreath on their dinner table. Rather than merely observing a ritual, the progressive lighting of the Advent candles week after week has the power to create in us a sense of anticipation and the need for each of us to move from the darkness of sin into the light of salvation given to us with the coming of Christ.