The Advent Wreath: Finding Comfort in the Light of Jesus
OCIEANNA FLEISS|GUEST Christmas music played softly as I leaned on the counter at the Christian bookstore where I worked alongside my new husband. “Advent?” I said. “Isn’t that when churches light candles around Christmas time?” We were in our twenties, still establishing our own family culture, and had been dabbling in some of the Christian traditions we hadn’t explored before. “Yeah, but I heard you can also celebrate it at home,” he answered. “How?” “I’m not sure, but I think we should start with an Advent wreath.” I agreed, and after some shopping, we settled on a gorgeous wooden wreath decorated with a Celtic knot that would sit nicely on our coffee table. It had four candles—three purple and one pink—to represent the four weeks of the Advent season. Later we added a white one, the Christ candle, to light on Christmas Eve. With joy I set it up in our California apartment, and each Sunday in December, as the sunshine filtered through our windows, we lit the candles and read the accompanying Scriptures for each week. The weekly Advent themes of hope, preparation, joy, and love nurtured a rhythm of worship our hearts needed—and have continued to need. We didn’t know then how, over the years, these themes would play out in our lives...