Candles and religion have gone hand in hand for centuries. Even after the invention of light bulb, churches around the world still light candles for the services. Candles have for centuries been used to mark special occasions and Advent is no different.
In fact, Advent is so connected with candles that the Advent wreath has 4 candles and some have a fifth candle in the center. Each candle has a special meaning and each one needs to be lit on a certain day.
Advent is known as the season when the King is coming. For this reason, purple has been the traditional color that is used for the Advent wreath since purple is considered the color of royalty. On an interesting note, purple was chosen as a royal color simply because the dye was one of the most expensive dyes available.
But back to the Advent wreath, which has 3 purple candles and one rose colored candle. Each candle represents a countdown to the coming of the King and it also has a symbolic meaning. The first purple candle means Hope. The second purple candle means Love. The third candle that you light is the rose colored candle and it means Joy. And finally, the fourth candle and third purple one means peace. The candle that rests in the center of the Advent wreath should be white and it represents Christmas Day. The fifth candle is completely optional.
Okay, you are probably sick of this little history lesson, or would that be religious lesson and you probably want to get to the main focus of this article, to make an Advent Wreath of your own. Like all my crafts, this candle craft can be very easy to do and requires very little know how before you begin.
What you need:
- Three Purple Taper Candles
- One Rose (pink) Taper Candle
- One White Pillar Candle (optional)
- A candle holder ring (the wire frame type that is used for floral arrangements)
- A ring of evergreens that will fit the ring (you can use fresh or fake)
- Floral Wire
- Optional: You can make the evergreen ring yourself but you will need:
- Fresh Evergreen branches
- Floral Wire
Directions:
- Take out the candle holder ring and remove any of the tags from the store.
- Pop on the ring of evergreens and secure it with floral wire for safety.
- Place the four candles in each holder.
- Place the white pillar candle in the center of the ring.
And there you have an Advent wreath. See, I wasn’t lying when I said that it was fast and simple. Of course, if you decide to make your own evergreen ring there are a few steps that you need to do, which I have gone over below.
- Take out the candle holder ring and remove any of the tags from the store.
- Arrange the evergreen branches around the holder. Make sure that they cover it completely and you like the design.
- Take the floral wire and attach the evergreens to the candle ring. The best way to do this is to find a start point for each sprig of evergreen. So at the first candle holder, tie on the end of the evergreen sprig. Leave that sprig and move onto the next holder, tying on another sprig of evergreen to the next holder and so on until you have four sprigs hanging out from each of the holders.
- Next, secure one of the evergreen sprigs in the middle between two holders, move to the next sprig and repeat until you have secured them all.
- Lastly, secure as close to the tip as you can while still maintaining a nice look to the ring. Repeat until all the sprigs are attached.
- Add more sprigs of evergreens to spots that need them.
- Place the four candles in each holder.
- Place the white pillar candle in the center of the ring.
When you use your Advent wreath, you will light a purple candle on the first Sunday of Advent, the second Sunday of Advent you will light two purple candles; the one you already lit the week before and the second one. The third Sunday of Advent, you will light the two previous candles as well as the rose candle, and on the fourth Sunday, you will light all the candles except the white one. The candle in the center represents Christmas so you don’t light it until Christmas Day.
Now you have an Advent wreath that everyone will want and you will find yourself making some last minute Advent wreaths for gifts.
-MJ Plaster
