Joy to the World ~ Let Earth Receive Her King!
In the hurry and flurry of modern Christmas, packed with events, children’s performances, church and office parties and the like, we get buried in the festivities and activities too easily. In the whirlwind of activity, tradition and choosing gifts, it is easy to miss out on the Savior. Celebrating Advent is a way to knit hearts together in Christ. It is a time to slow down, enjoy a few moments of solitude as a family and focus on the Reason for the Season.
We began celebrating Advent a few years ago (I posted my Advent testimony last week) and our lives have never been the same. The Celebration of Advent begins Sunday, December 3, 2023.
• December 3 – First Sunday of Advent
• December 10 – Second Sunday of Advent
• December 17 – Third Sunday of Advent
• December 24 – Fourth Sunday of Advent
What Is Advent?
Advent means the coming, or arrival and comes from the Latin word Adventus, meaning to come. Advent is a celebration of the first coming of Christ, long foretold in scripture, of His virgin birth in a stable in Bethlehem. Advent also looks longingly forward to His glorious 2nd coming as Christ the King, also foretold in scripture, which we wait in joyful anticipation for still. Advent is a time of quiet preparation, a time of prayer, a time of thanksgiving for all the Lord is, and a time of reflection on His blessed birth.
Many families new to Advent can think it sounds wonderful, but don’t quite understand how to pull together their own personal Advent celebration. It is really quite easy, if you use the resources pulled together in this newsletter and at our website www.theprudentwife.com You can probably pull most of the things you need out of your own Christmas items, table accessories, candles, etc. If this is your first Advent, please don’t worry about making it perfect and getting caught up in “doing it right.” It is not for humans to be perfect, but to celebrate the One who is perfect, and the author and finisher of our faith! Advent is all about celebrating Jesus!
Creating an Advent Wreath
One of the joys of celebrating advent is creating your own Advent Wreath. It is the ideal family project that can easily be changed from year to year. The wreath can have a modern emphasis, be homemade, made out of children’s handprints joined in a circle, be rustic and primitive or even elegant and formal. Traditionally, the Advent wreath was made of evergreens symbolizing the everlasting life of Christ. Holly berries sprinkled in with the evergreens symbolize the blood of Jesus, shed for the remission of sins. Wreaths are made into a circle, showing us the eternal nature of the Lord, He is eternity.
Advent wreaths can be easily made from materials readily available. If you have evergreens in your yard, or neighbors’ yard, ask if you can cut off a few. Fashion the evergreens into a circle, using wire or another wreath to hold them together. You can use any sort of greenery. At the Tipton-Haynes house today we saw magnolia leaves entwined with evergreens, holly, and various shrubs and bushes that are still pretty and green. This would make a beautiful, natural wreath for free!
A trip to your local craft store will give you many additional options for your Advent wreath. You can use regular green Christmas wreaths of all sizes, or use one of those golden straw colored wreaths or grapevine wreaths and decorate as desired. Wreaths lay perfectly on the table and are the ideal beginning to your Advent wreath. Some stores have beautiful holly wreaths, which work well. The only caveat is that you must be able to incorporate candles safely into your wreath design! Completing the wreath is simple, decorate with candles, whether you have votives in cups, tall tapers, an Advent set from the local Christian bookstore or an actual Advent wreath (available in some craft stores). Candles do not have to be INSIDE the circle, they can be on the outside or inside, whatever is safest and mos practical. Your kids are going to be around this and it is absolutely imperative that they stay safe during Advent. We like to have a dove hanging above the wreath, from the chandelier, symbolizing the Holy Spirit. You can place the dove on the wreath as well.
See a bevy of different Advent wreaths at www.theprudentwife.com and click on Advent on the front page! You will find all styles from elegant to traditional on the site! Ideas abound and this section is continuously being expanded!Error! Filename not specified.
Candles of Advent
Christ IS the light of the world. Four candles are placed in the Advent wreath, 3 purple and one pink. The purple candle symbolizes royalty and repentance. The pink candle is the joy of the Savior that the angels sang so eloquently of at His birth. Your devotional will have much more on the symbolism than can be written here!
The 1st Sunday Symbolizes HOPE with the Prophet’s Candle- Jesus is coming
The 2nd Sunday Symbolizes FAITH with the Bethlehem candle- Mary & Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem
The 3rd Sunday Symbolizes JOY with the Shepherd’s Candle- Joy at the coming birth of Jesus
The 4th Sunday Symbolizes PEACE with the Angel’s Candle- The Message of the Angels: “”Peace on Earth, God Will Toward Men””
Celebrating Advent as a Family
There are many different guides, devotionals and ways of celebrating Advent. As you read and study Advent, you will note slight differences. Choose what your family wants to do and trust the Lord to do it in a way that honors Him. Keep in mind the ages of your children and tailor your Advent celebration around them! Preschoolers will want it short and sweet, and like lots of repetition. Elementary school children can go longer and by the time you have Jr. and Sr. high schoolers and college kids, you can go as long as the family likes. Keep fire safety in mind at all times and be sure and talk to the kids before the celebration about fire safety (eyes closed in prayer and young children can be dangerous – ask me how I know that!) Be flexible and versatile with your family, you are building a celebration that they will bring to their children (your grandchildren) in honor of the coming of the Lord!
What Can A Typical Advent Celebration Look Like? Error! Filename not specified.
- Turn down the house lights and light the room with twinkling lights and extra candles
- Begin in prayer
- Light the Advent candle/candles of the week
- Sing a Christmas carol, hymn or song
- Teach about the Advent symbols
- Read the devotional and scriptures
- Children can say memory verses
- Old and New Testament Prophecy readings (based on devotional)
- Children can play instruments and family can sing carols or hymns
- Closing prayer
- Allow the children to blow out candles safely
Remember, tailor your celebration around the ages of your children and the talents of your family! This is just an idea, you can do as much or as little as you like! Let your celebration grow with your family.
Use your family’s giftings to honor the Lord. If you sing, then sing Christmas carols and praises (it is a joyful noise!). If children play instruments, you can incorporate their violin, piano, or other instrument into the celebration, beautiful coupled with singing. There are so many wonderful songs to sing! You can choose from a few favorites below, incorporate your own, or have talented children write a new song and teach it to the others.
- 1st Week Carols ~ O Come All Ye Faithful, O Come, O Come Emmanuel
- 2nd Week Carols ~ O Little Town of Bethlehem
- 3rd Week Carols ~ The First Noel, It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, Silent Night, Away in a Manger
- 4th Week Carols ~ Angels We Have Heard On High, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, What Child is This, It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
- Christmas Day ~ Happy Birthday Jesus, and your favorite carols.
Advent is a great time to memorize scripture, for both kids and parents. Simply pull verses out of the devotional you are doing, and tailor them by age to your children. Encourage them to say their memory verses during the celebration as a part of Advent. It is great for older children and adults to participate in “writing the word on their hearts” and memorize scripture as well.
Our family has chosen to celebrate Advent daily, through the different devotionals we use, with the Sunday celebration being an extra special evening in the week. Some families prefer to just do the Sunday celebration. Do what works for your family. When we miss an evening, as is often the case during this busy time of the year, we simply do a double reading the next day. Each night we have the honor and pleasure of celebrating Advent we thoroughly enjoy. It is a joyous time spent “slowing down” to worship and consider the coming Savior. Do what works best for your family, honor the Lord with your time and heart.
Each year, we transform our formal dining room into the Advent room. We keep the Advent wreath in the middle of the table throughout the entire Christmas season. Our dining rooms are always seen by guests, which is a great witnessing opportunity for folks who drop by and inquire what it is. Baskets hold our devotional, hymnals and anything we need. Candles are placed throughout the dining room, along with evergreen garlands filled with twinkling lights and white stars. Each night, Emily lights the candles in the room, turns on all of the twinkling lights, and getting our room ready for a beautiful celebration. Reading the devotional by candlelight feels so special, it is like the majesty of heaven reaches down and lights our hearts on fire. It is like a warm hug from heaven. It is truly beautiful! In the candlelight, we read our devotional, light the candle or candles, depending on the week. The kids say their verses, and join in prayer. Over the years, we have sang Christmassongs, had the kids play their instruments, and enjoyed times of prayer and rejoicing. Advent is one of the most beautiful family memories we have and it changes a little each year. I only share what we do to stir your heart to create your own Advent traditions.
Advent Poem ~ Christina Rossetti
This Advent moon shines cold and clear, these Advent nights are long;
Our lamps have burned year after year and still their flame is strong.
“Watchman, what of the night?” we cry, heartsick with hope deferred:
“No speaking signs are in the sky,” is still the watchman’s word.
One to another hear them speak, the patient virgins wise:
“Surely he is not far to seek, all night we watch and rise.”
“The days are evil, looking back, the coming days are dim;
Yet count we not his promise slack but watch and wait for him.”
Weeping, we hold him fast tonight; we will not let him go
Till daybreak smite our wearied sight and summer smite the snow:
Then figs shall bud, and dove with dove shall coo the livelong day;
Then he shall say, “Arise, my love, my fair one, come away.”
(The text is by Christina Rossetti.)
We encourage you to look forward to the coming of our Savior by beginning your own Advent celebration this year! Each year, as your family worships the Lord at Advent, write the excited, candlelit faces of your children on your heart. These are fleeting moments, they all too soon grow up and begin families of their own. You will cherish these precious Advent memories for a lifetime as you build their hope and anticipation at the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ, the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords!
