Advent Week 1: Rejoice!

The first week of Advent, we light one candle. My family waits till dark to light ours.

There are four candles in an Advent wreath, one for each week of Advent, and usually a fifth that is lit on Nativity Eve. This last candle is nearly always white, but may also be gold or silver.

You may make an Advent wreath (also known as a Sun Wheel) as elaborately or as plainly as you wish or simply have the four or five candles somewhere convenient where it is unlikely they will be knocked over or catch anything on fire. You may use any candles you wish or have access to: tea lights work well, though you may need to replace these week by week; tapers; pillar candles; jar candles; chime or otherwise miniature candles -- the choice is nearly infinite!

Candle color largely depends on your preference (and what you have access to), as well as your denomination. The Janites use green, yellow, blue, and violet, with red instead of white for the fifth; others may prefer to use traditional candle colors you would see in a Christian church (they often come bundled in a set):

• all blue
• all red (blue or red are the most common in Protestant churches)
• all green (with one lighter than the others), as with Celtic Christians
• all purple, with one pink for Gaudete (Joyous) Sunday 

Purple, with the one pink, is most common; purple (or violet) is the color of the season in the Catholic Church, signifying penitence. Advent is seen as a mirror of Lent, also a penitential time, where you fast and pray to prepare for the upcoming event (the birth or the resurrection). The one pink is a pause for joy at the nearness of the Birth, and is lit in the third week. In weeks one, two, and four you light the purple candles.

But you aren't limited to just those colors! You may use whichever colors you have, and switch it around as you like.

How often you use your Advent candles is up to you: I only light the Advent candles once a week so I don't use them up too quickly, but there are some who will light the Advent candle of the week every day at sundown. It just depends on how many candles you have and how long you will burn them: if you light them for only a few minutes, you could probably light them nightly, but if you want to let them burn a while, it's better to only light them at the beginning of each week unless you have replacements to hand.

~*~

Verses for Week 1

These are verses I felt went well with each week leading up to Nativity. The first night, with its single candle, feels most like Hope, newly kindled. So we see first the terrible abyss -- but then hear the promise of salvation.

            Mythos of the Divine Maid, Chapter 1:1-2
When the first night had come upon the world, the Mistress of All Things stood alone once more, as She had in the beginning. For a terrible abyss had opened to lie between the world and She, and Her creatures could not look upon Her brightness.

            Mythos of the Divine Maid, Chapter 2:12
Rejoice, poor wanderers of the earth and exiles from the house of your Mother, for to you shall come a guide and a deliverer.

(This week's is rather short, but we have some longer portions ahead!)

 

You may also say a prayer as you light the candle, or a portion of the Scripture verses for that week. There are several prayers available online from various Christian sources that you may adapt for your use, or write your own. I'll usually say something spur of the moment, so that works too!

 

See you next week!