Advent Candles!

I said it already on my stitching blog, but here it is again - it has been Yuletide since November 1st for me. I woke up the morning after Halloween, and everything said "Yuletide": the weather, the anticipation already starting to crackle in the air, the early posts on social media or the music in stores - I have been happily enjoying the festive season nearly a full month now!

So to bring this winter-y feeling more fully into view, I decided this would be the year we had advent candles. This year found me with a lot of candles on hand from fantastic finds in local thrift stores, so I had some to choose from right away; my Mother has plenty of candle holders on hand and a new runner for the mantelpiece; and my sister's birthday celebrations yesterday took us to a Michael's store where I picked up two frosty branches to finish off the setting. It turned out beautifully!!

The traditional colours for Advent candles are several: all purple, all blue, all white, or three purple/blue and one pink, some with a white candle in the middle. Each candle has meanings depending on the colour, when they are lit in the Advent season, and where they are in the wreath; and most of these meanings change depending on the church and denomination lighting them. They were in use with pre-Christian Germanic peoples, and became incorporated with the Christian church by 1600.

For me, I didn't have any blue or purple candles, but I did have lovely white tapers, a handful of pink - and a beautiful gold. I like the meanings of hope, love, joy, and peace for each of them, with the gold candle on Nativity for the birth of the Daughter. I'll probably light them from the outside first - hope and peace on the white - then love and joy on the pink in the middle as the last two Mondays of Advent so I work my way in towards the Daughter candle for Nativity.

Advent begins next week - one candle a week for the four weeks leading up to Christmas. I checked the Calendar over on Google Calendars, courtesy of Race MoChridhe, and in the Daughters of Shining Harmony, and the weeks this year do indeed begin on Mondays, or Candredi for Sai Candre, so one candle will be lit in the evening on Monday next week, the first of Astraea, around dinner time; then two the following Monday, etc. The gold candle will be lit on the eve of Nativity, as the light of the Daughter is born.

I will be eagerly looking forward to the promised posts on Nativity and Advent practices on the Janite Order's blog, and - once I get the last of my homework out of the way (just two classes in the term left!) - working on the prayers and readings I will have during this season!

Until the first night of Advent, I do have some more Scripture images in the works: the cover images for each of the chapters of the Minor Scriptures are nearly finished, and I've begun some work with the actual verses; look to see those posted soon on Facebook; and then there are images to create for the holiday season as well, which I can hardly wait to get started on!

Hope to see you soon!

.~*~.