Hi all, Winnie Griggs here. We’ve been focusing on the
Advent Season here at Seekerville and it got me to wondering, just how did this
annual observance come about. So I did a little online research and the results
surprised me.
Most scholars believe Advent dates back to the fourth
century. But originally it had nothing
to do with Christmas. Instead it was a
time set aside for converts to Christianity to reflect and prepare themselves
for baptism.
The origin of the Advent wreath is equally as fascinating.
The modern day Advent wreath was first developed by a German Protestant pastor
in 1839. Johann Hinrich Wichern worked with children at a mission school.
During the Christmas season, the children would constantly ask if Christmas Day
had arrived. Looking for a way to give the children a visual way to mark the
days, he took an old wagon wheel and attached 24 candles to it – 20 small red
ones and 4 large white ones. Each weekday and Saturday a small red one was lit
successively and on Sundays one of the large white ones was lit. The practice
grew in popularity among German congregations and eventually evolved into the
smaller 4 or 5 candle wreaths in use today.
So there you have it - a short summary of what I learned during my research. Was any of it new to you? Do you have any traditions you and your family observe during the Advent Season? Are there other bits of history or lore you'd like to share?
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Good morning, Winnie! Thank you for sharing your research on a cherished tradition. I didn't know the advent circle of candles came about that way, and not until the 1830's! Fascinating!
ReplyDeleteHi Winnie, We didn't celebrate Advent as such growing up but we were certainly children who said is it Christmas yet? like those children 180 years ago did. I find it so special the anticipation of His birth has not changed in all these years.
ReplyDeleteMy paternal grandmother was German, I wish I could ask her if she celebrated Advent this way. She was an 8 yr. old girl when they sailed for America in Dec. of 1911, arriving at Ellis Island in Jan. 1912. Not only did they celebrate Christmas at sea that year, but she also lost a brother during that voyage, so that would have been the most joyous and saddest of times combined. I can only imagine. I have a letter from her that did say their only sweet stuff was coffee cake that they had at Christmas and Easter.
I'd love to read one of your Christmas books!
A Joyous and blessed Christmas to all!
Wow, Tracey, what a story of your grandmother's family! Like you said, joyous and sad. Thanks for sharing that!
DeleteHi Tracy. What an amazing story. I wish I knew more of my family history and lore
DeleteHave a joyous and blessed Christmas.
Hi Winnie, thanks so much for this post. I learned a lot of new things! Lots of wonderful Christmas traditions have come from Germany, and now I can add that to the list. We light Advent candles on Sundays and talk about different aspects of his birth, our hope and prophecies fulfilled. A few years ago I made a felt advent calendar for our girls. There's a verse in each pocket from the Christmas account along with an item from the nativity. (Lee-Ann B)
ReplyDeleteLee-Ann, that sounds like a wonderful advent calendar!
DeleteLee-Ann, I LOVE that family tradition, thanks for sharing it with us
DeleteSo interesting, Winnie! I didn't know any of that history.
ReplyDeleteOur church uses the 3 purple candles, one pink candle, and one central white candle--so the 5 candle set.
And yes, I had to laugh, picturing the kids asking over and over if it was Christmas yet. :)
Isn't it fun to learn that some things never change :)
DeleteGood morning Winnie. I didn't know about the Advent in your research. Thanks for sharing. I can't believe it's almost Christmas. I hate to see the season end. EvryE year is the same way.so in many ways I keep the joy of Christmas all year.
ReplyDeleteHi Wilani. Yes, the true meaning of Christmas is something we can and should keep in our hearts year round.
DeleteInteresting post, Winnie. Thanks for your giveaway; have read some of your books and loved them.
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas to you and your family and to authors and "friends" at Seekerville.
Hi Jackie. Your welcome. And a very Merry and blessed Christmas to you and yours as well.
DeleteHi Winnie:
ReplyDeleteIt is very interesting about the history of Advent. But I have a question about the candles. How long are they kept lit? If they are not kept lit all the time and replaced as they burn out, how can they help the kids know how close it is to Christmas?
I remember we had an Advent calendar with boxes that opened on the dates attached to our refrigerator door (where we were a lot of the time) so that each day we opened one box, read the message for that day, and then knew the next time we came by how many days were left.
I don't know how you would do the above with candles. Am I missing something?
Vince
Vince, as far as I can tell there are no hard and fast rules on this. But this is the tradition as I know it. The wreath is placed on or near the dining table. During the first week, when you sit down for the evening meal, you light one candle and it stays burning until the end of the meal. During the second week you light both the first and second. And so forth. The ritual is supposed to focus family discussion on the true meaning of Christmas and how family members can best prepare themselves.
ReplyDeleteOthers may have different traditions.
Hello Winnie, Thank you for sharing these interesting facts about Advent.
ReplyDeleteHi Winnie! I didn't know any of these Advent facts, how fascinating to learn how it got started :-)
ReplyDeleteWe've never celebrated Advent at our house. I know some people do Advent calendars or light candles. The only "tradition" we do here is watch as many Christmas movies as possible. :-)
Thank you for the chance to win of your books. Wishing you and yours a very blessed Merry Christmas! :-)
Hi Winnie. Thanks for sharing about Advent. It's very interesting. We don't celebrate advent, but we do like to make our family's Swiss bread and Swiss cookie recipes at Christmas time. They've been handed down from my Swiss grandparents' families.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the chance to win a book. Have a wonderful Christmas!
Thank you for sharing all this. We don't celebrate advent in in our family, and I had been meaning to do my own research. That's fascinating.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't familiar with the history of the Advent wreath. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI'm probably too late to be entered in the drawing, but would love to win a book.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the history of Advent. It was interesting.
It's interesting that we did not celebrate or talk about Advent when I Was growing up. It's only in the last 15 years or so that Advent has even been talked about in our church. I still have lots to learn.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteWinnie, I really appreciate you sharing this. What a wonderful reminder of what our focus should be.
ReplyDeleteI love that history regarding the Advent wreath. I learned something new. Thanks and Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing some of this. Like others, we never observed Advent growing up, so I enjoy learning the evolving history behind this tradition. I especially like how it's used to help children understand the "are we there yet" concept. Merry Christmas!
ReplyDelete