Advent Wreaths and Candles
A common Advent tradition is that of the Advent wreath. The wreath is made of evergreen branches with four candleholders and candles, often hung from the ceiling. Since in Advent we're waiting for the Christ child, there needs to be a ceremonial way to mark the time and make us aware of the wait. Lighting a candle reminds us of Christ as light of the world. As the candle is lit, it's customary to sing a verse of "O Come O Come Emmanuel", a different verse each time. One candle is newly-lit for each Sunday in Advent: one on the first Sunday, two on the second, and so on. Some in high-church circles frown on Advent wreaths in the sanctuary and lighting ceremonies during worship. Where that happens, those ceremonies can still be a part of your worship at home. The kids can have lots of fun making the wreath. For fire safety at home, it's usually better to put the candles on a separate candle-holder instead of on the wreath, putting the holder where it is kept away from flammables. (We moderns are much clumsier with candles than our ancestors, for whom candles were a part of everyday life.) Use a five-candle holder with a place for a middle candle, then put in four red candles (one for each Sunday in Advent) and one white candle (for lighting on Christmas day), lit in the same pattern as for the wreath. On Christmas day, all four red ones are lit, and then the Christmas candle.
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More Christmas Traditions Around the World
In Latino countries, the days before Christmas are marked by the posada, the journey of Mary and Joseph to find shelter in the days before Jesus' birth. The people playing the roles go from house to house, being turned away at each, until a house takes them in -- with a party ready to start upon their arrival.
Another common tradition is that of decorating and blessing their Christmas tree. The Sundays before Christmas (Advent 3 or 4) are often set aside for this task. Decorations include colored lights, balls (originally used to reflect a tree's candlelight in a dazzling way), tinsel (resembling the glittering icicles found on fir trees in icy lands), chrismons (wood, foam, or embroidered symbols and monograms for Christ), and on top, a star. Traditionally, the house decorations stay up until Epiphany, 12 days after Christmas. The tree may have to come down slightly earlier if it dries out. The fragrance released when the tree is removed is memorably refreshing. The tar from the fallen needles may prove hard to remove from a shag rug. Korean Christians often put cotton 'snow' on their decorations.
The use of trees and decorations are rooted in Europe's pre-Christian religions. Light was especially important in Scandinavia, where the natural aurora and extended nights inspired pagans to create light traditions. The pagan customs were transformed by the early missionaries so that they express some aspect of Christian belief. Sometimes, the meaning was much the same as the pagans treasured, but drawn through Christ. (For example, Scandinavians brought their lights into the 13 December Christian feast day for St. Lucia.) In other cases, the old meaning was deliberately turned inside-out to bring further honor to God and more cause for the people to celebrate. In any case, the tradition of trees, lights, and decorations has caught on everywhere, even among some non-Christian Asians who find that they really enjoy decorating for the season.
Advent is also when many families start making their own crèche or manger scene. Francis of Assisi is said to have popularized the crèche. In Poland, there is a yearly competition on building the best crèche.
In one modern turn on the old tradition, a family does not make the crèche all at once, but piece by piece, with each family member adding a piece, one a day in front of the family, telling the significance of each piece, until only the Christ Child and manger are missing. Then the manger is added -- but with no baby and no straw. The baby needs a bed of straw, so the children are asked to do good things for others. For each such deed, they would get a straw to add to the manger. Hopefully, by Christmas eve, there would be a bed of straw to lay the baby Jesus figurine into.
The Moravians created the Advent star, which symbolizes the star that led the Wise Men to Jesus, who is "the bright and morning star" (Revelation 22:16). This star first started in the 1850s near the traditional Moravian home area of Herrnhut.
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