A time to involve the whole family in the meaning of Christ’s birth.
There are calendars that have pop-up squares to excite little ones as they anticipate the next picture. There are Bible stories that tell children of the Wise men’s eagerness to find the special Jesus child, and hymns written by men of God that sing to the excitement of the arrival of the Savior promised. There are Bible verses that tell these truths. (Galatians 4:4).
What a magnificent time to share these exciting truths with our family gathered together around an Advent Wreath.
Of course, the Advent Wreath is a European tradition, but can be adapted to a shared family time of gathering evergreen boughs to weave into a circle and finding seeds, nuts, and cones to be placed on the wreath. Make family time while the boughs are weaved into a circle (symbolic of Everlasting Life), and the seeds, nuts, and cones (symbolic of the Resurrection) are placed on the wreath, and an explanation given for the meaning behind each action.
Next step is to add five candles. Three purple (traditional) or blue (modern) candles representing repentance & fasting plus the coming of a king; one pink or rose candle representing joy and a shift in the season away from repentance and toward celebration are placed in the circle of boughs, and a white candle representing the sinless, pure Savior is placed in the center.
Now it’s story time – time to gather around the wreath each week and tell the family that the candles will remind them that Jesus is the LIGHT of the world (John 8:12), the seeds will remind them that Jesus brings new life (John 10:27-28), with joy (John 15:11) to each one of them, and the circle of evergreens represents that life with Jesus has no end (John 14:1-3). It’s a good time to reinforce these truths in their lives.
Sometime this week, the family gathers around the Advent Wreath as one candle is lighted and a member says: “The candles show us that Jesus is the Light of the World. The evergreens and seeds remind us that He is life and brings life to us. All these are arranged in a circle because our life in Christ has no end. Today we light the first candle of the Advent wreath as we begin our celebration of Advent, and rejoice in the great gift that is ours in Jesus Christ. This first candle is the candle of HOPE. We light the candle of HOPE first because HOPE is our assurance that God will do all He has promised in His word. We know all the promises of God are fulfilled in Jesus Christ who is our HOPE today and forever! (2 Corinthians 1:20). Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! (2 Corinthians 9:15) Amen”
excerpt from -article by Dick Hagerman - Used with permission
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