Are you concerned that Christmas on the homestead is somehow getting lost in the to-do lists and the chaos that is happening outside of your home this time of year? Or maybe there’s chaos inside the home this year! Either way, may I gently suggest that you take a few minutes this week during your morning devotionals to consider the true meaning of Advent and the Christmas season. We have several simple and practical suggestions for making this season specific, including crafts, recipes, and tutorials. Also, look for the FREE printable!
Advent is officially the season of preparation in the Christian community for the celebration of the birth, or coming (aka advent) of Christ. Some people even see it as a preparatory period for the Second Coming of Christ, which has yet to happen.
Traditionally, Advent begins on the Sunday nearest the feast of St. Andrew the Apostle (November 30th) and ends on December 24th. Then, Christmas begins December 25th at midnight.
Christmas Eve is sometimes usually its own Advent day with special readings. If Christmas Eve falls on a Sunday, you might consider it an extra fifth Sunday for Advent, in which case you’d probably start the last Sunday of November. If Christmas Eve falls on a weekday, you could simply do a special Advent reading whichever day of the week it falls upon.
My family does four Sundays of Advent reading, incorporating Christmas Eve into the mix of those four special days. Since we’re not actually Catholic, this doesn’t interfere with our other religious observances.
Each Christian denomination celebrates Advent a bit differently, however it’s common to come together for special scriptural readings and ceremonies on each of the four Sundays before Christmas day.
This is a time to spiritually prepare ourselves to figuratively receive the Christ Child into our hearts as we celebrate His birth, as well as think about the preparation required to welcome His return. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer is quoted as saying,
The celebration of Advent is possible only to those who are troubled in soul, who know themselves to be poor and imperfect, and who look forward to something greater to come.
What is The Meaning of Advent?
As I said, the word Advent comes from the Latin adventus, which means “arrival”. The Advent tradition celebrates the four week period of preparation for the birth of Jesus Christ (Christmas). Advent is observed every Sunday of that four week period, but other activities that are Advent related can be celebrated any time in December.
The true meaning of Advent is found when we reflect upon the first advent (or coming) of Christ, and prepare for the second advent of Christ (when He returns).
It’s a time of
- hope & faith
- expectation of good things to come
- prayer and personal improvement
- spiritual preparation
Advent is meant to connect us spiritually with God’s plan of salvation through Jesus Christ by focusing on the past, present, and future. It’s also meant to help us enjoy the Light of Christ in the middle of the darkest time of year. There’s so much to celebrate!
To help you celebrate this Advent season, we’ve created a few FREE printable worksheets that include an Advent candle cheat sheets, recipes, sample 12 Days of Christmas doorbell ditch (more on that in the article), and more! Join our newsletter and get the freebie!
The Advent Wreath
The most common sight of Advent is an evergreen wreath with four (sometimes five) candles places inside it. Sometimes, the wreath is made of stone or wood carved to look like evergreens like holly, pine, and yew. Evergreens of any kind represent the eternal nature of our souls, as well as the eternal life and resurrection the Christ provides.
Melissa K Norris can teach you how to make an old-fashioned evergreen wreath. You can even use the trimmings from your Christmas tree, if you need to cut it down to fit in its base or in your house.
If you don’t want to purchase a wreath base, make one from vines you’ve trimmed in the yard. We can show you how to make a basic vine wreath.
The Advent wreath usually sits on the dining room table or sideboard – somewhere it can be seen daily. Tasha Tudor suspended hers from the ceiling so that it hung over their dining table. You can see an illustration of this in her fabulous seasonal reading book, A Time to Keep. (Look for it used on Thriftbooks.com.)
The Advent Candles
At the heart of any Advent wreath lie the Advent candles which keep the meaning of Advent at the forefront of our celebrations. Each candle represents some aspect of Christ’s character or mission. These candles are meant to teach us the reason for the season of Christmas, but also how we can prepare for the Savior’s return.
To Complete the Advent Wreath:
- Make an evergreen wreath and place it in the center of your table.
- Place one pink and three purple candles inside the wreath.
- Place one white candle in the very center of both the wreath and candles.
If you use pillar candles, be sure they’re on some sort of heat-resistant plate.
If you use tall votive candles (usually about 2” – 3” tall), you can place them inside glass yogurt jars or half pint canning jars to catch wax.
Taper candles should go on candlesticks or be nestled into pint canning jars filled with sand.
If you’d like to learn to make your own candles for Advent, please visit any of the following links:
Learn to make 3 Kinds of Candles
Decorate Candles for the Holidays
The Meaning of Advent Candles
To explain the meaning of the Advent candles, I’ve quoted below from our book, Homestead Holidays.
Throughout Christendom, the Advent candles have slightly different, though very similar meanings. Sometimes the color will vary slightly, too. Feel free to tend to the details in a way that fits your family.
The main purpose in lighting candles is to remind us of The Light of the World, Jesus Christ.
Here’s how we do it in our home:
The first purple candle represents hope and is called “The Prophecy Candle,” reminding us of the prophets, especially Isaiah, who foretold Christ’s birth and mission. We also use the candle to remind us of the value of scripture study.
The second purple candle represents faith and is called “The Bethlehem Candle,” reminding us of the incredible faith of Mary and Joseph, those parents chosen to raise the Christ child and provide Him with an earthly family experience. We take time to really think about these two great people and to consider ways to show similar faith.
The third candle is pink and represents joy, being called “The Shepherd’s Candle.” The shepherds were among the first to hear of Christ’s birth and they were told by angels not to fear, but to rejoice. In liturgical Christian tradition, pink is the color of joy. We live a quiet life on our homestead and this candle serves to remind us that by small and simple things (like shepherds, babies, and homesteaders) the Lord can work mighty miracles. We can rejoice in simplicity.
The fourth candle represents peace and is justifiably called “The Angel’s Candle,” as those heavenly messengers declared the peace and glad tidings of the Savior’s birth. We ponder how valuable peace is in our times and resolve to seek peace in ourselves, our relationships, and with all whom we touch.
The fifth candle is white and represents the Savior Himself. This candle is lit only on Christmas Day in most homes, but we light it on Christmas Eve during our scripture reading and then light it again the next day.
When to Light the Advent Candles
We light the first candle on the first Sunday, and then the first two candles on the second Sunday of Advent. Then, on down until we’ve lit them all (a lot like Hanukkah).
We usually keep them lit for the duration of the scripture reading, ornament hanging, and family discussion afterward. Consequently, the first candle is nearly spent by the end of Advent since it’s been lit the most.
Sometimes we get talking and forget to blow them out for hours. This isn’t a bad thing, of course, but keep an eye on that first candle if you do family Advent readings.
Quick Tip: If all you have are white tapers, you can use a strip of modeling wax (or any soft, colored wax like beeswax sheets) wrapped around each candle to correlate to the traditional color for each day’s candle.
Roll out a small snake of wax and wrap it around the candle, pressing it on firmly in an easily visible spot. You could also cut out tiny shapes like stars or hearts in the appropriate colors and press them onto the white tapers.
This can be fun to do any time of year just to spruce up an otherwise boring taper candle!
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Recipes for Advent Celebrations
You’ll need some great drinks and delicious treats for your Advent readings. Here are just a few to consider:
Cranberry Punch or Natural Soda
Leftover Oatmeal and Pumpkin Cookies
Three Kings Day falls inside the celebration of the 12 Days of Christmas and is also called, Dia de los Reyes. One of our favorite holiday traditions is to serve a delicious holiday sweet bread called a Tea Ring for this day. It’s our version of King Cake, a traditional sweet for 3 King’s Day, that is a lot healthier.
This cake would make an excellent treat to serve on the final day of Advent right before Christmas. It’s a bit of work, but it’s a labor of love and so delicious!
—>>>Get the Recipe for Tea Ring King Cake Here<<<—
How We Celebrate the True Meaning of Advent
In our family, we do indeed celebrate Advent on each of the four Sundays leading up to Christmas. We do this at home, all crammed together at the dining room table with the lights off and the candles on our Advent wreath lit.
While sipping hot chocolate, we read select scriptures that teach us about the mission of Jesus Christ and/or help us contemplate our relationship to Him.
We have a special ornament for the tree that corresponds to each scripture, and that ornament can only be hung after our reading. The job of opening the box and placing the ornament on the tree is awarded to the child who was the most reverent through the whole reading of the scriptures. (Well, sometimes we’re forgiving of a few wiggles so that our youngest child can have a turn.)
Some of my most favorite Christmas memories are of my family sitting in the candlelight talking softly about our reading and what it means to us personally.
Other Advent Activities
Apart from our weekly Advent readings, we try to stay focused on Christ each day of the season and not get distracted by less worthy “noise” that can vie for space in our hearts this time of year.
To help with that, we have a few other Advent-y activities we enjoy that you might, too. Remember, though, that if something starts to make clutter in your soul or on your schedule, get willing to get rid of it.
After nearly half a century of being on the planet and observing Christmas, I have learned to keep. things. simple.
Meaning of Advent Calendars
Some people enjoy marking each day of the Christmas season by observing a daily opening of an Advent calendar. These calendars were originally developed in Germany to track the season of Advent, but they evolved to include not just each day of December but small treats and gifts as well.
These treats are found by pulling open a small door on the calendar to reveal what’s hidden inside. At our house, the Advent “calendar” is a Victorian miniature house with little doors that open all over and in-to which our resident “Advent Fairy” puts little treasures.
Her favorite things to leave are:
- notes for the kids
- balloons
- charms
- treats
- polished stones
- acorn caps
- little crafty bits and bobs.
I like these little calendars because they spread out the joy of the Christmas season, taking the pressure of Christmas day to be the best and the most important. The true meaning of Advent is that there’s something to celebrate, remember, and prepare for regarding Christ in our lives every day of the year.
The children love any Advent calendar we use throughout the season, but they especially love Advent Fairy. They leave her gifts and short notes, as well. One year, Advent Fairy was gifted a tiny bed with tiny pillows and a tiny blanket made especially for her.
Advent Tradition Tip of the Season:
The traditions you start when you have one child will still be expected when you have five. And possibly grandkids.
The reality is that Advent Fairy is often late, sometimes forgetting to come at all and having to double up the next day. She’s not always very clever with her gifts, either. Sometimes coins and balloons are all she can think of to leave since there are twenty-four doors in the Advent calendar.
Not to mention that she’s nearly been caught several times in the act of leaving gifts in her 20-year career.
Even though I love the tradition of the Advent Fairy, it has required mental gymnastics to keep it going as my children and I have aged. Plus, I have only one son in a sea of sisters; he just doesn’t love glitter in the same way that they do.
Bottom line: think ahead a decade or two with traditions like this one and decide what you can maintain.
Observe the 12 Days of Christmas
It’s been my experience that the best way to create lasting memories is to plan them. With a little preparation, we can reduce the stress of the season and become better able to enjoy what it has to offer. We can do this by using the simple tool of a favorite time of the season called Twelvetide, or The Twelve Days of Christmas.
This is the period of twelve days before Christmas Day that was originally meant to be a time of celebration of the nativity (or birth) of Christ.
Traditionally, the Twelve Days of Christmas occurred during the time between Boxing Day (the day after Christmas) and Epiphany, which is January 6th.
These days can be filled with activities, including acts of service, that keep us focused on family, friends, and the birth of the Savior.
12 Days Before or After Christmas?
The first thing to decide is if you want to celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas BEFORE or AFTER Christmas.
I usually plan any 12 Days of Christmas activity or service to end on Christmas Eve, December 24th.
- Therefore, I begin my countdown on December 13th. If you want to end on Christmas day, plan to start your 12 Days events on the 14th.
You could also observe these twelve days in the traditional time frame from December 26th (Boxing Day or St. Stephan’s Day) to January 6th (Twelfth Day or the Feast of Epiphany). This can be nice since it extends the season beyond Christmas Day and New Year’s.
- If that’s your choice, begin your 12 Days event on the 26th.
The bottom line is that you and I can hark back to the original meaning of Twelvetide and deliberately plan to slow down, enjoy our families, reach out to friends, and even serve in our community. Let’s not let the season descend into mere busyness. Let us truly celebrate it one day at a time.
In order to this effectively in our family, I wrote a book to keep it all organized. The book includes 12 days of family activities and recipes, 12 days of doorbell ditch gifts for friends or neighbors, and 12 acts of service. Grab your own copy, if you think it will be helpful to your family, too!
Attend Church
Some denominations have weekly Sunday meetings devoted to Advent observation and this can be a great way to join your community in keeping focused on the meaning of Advent. So often, we end up being inspired by other everyday Christians doing everyday things – I think that’s why we’re supposed to meet together often.
You might even burn a traditional Christingle to remind yourself and your family of the special focus of this time of year. Learn how to make your own Christingle from Mum in the Mad House – these are fun even if you don’t attend church.
Display a Nativity
Also called a creche, these sets are a depiction of the birth of Jesus Christ. They usually include:
- Mary & Joseph
- Jesus in a manger
- Shepherds & their sheep
- An angel
Although they most likely arrived years after Jesus was born, nativity sets will also sometimes include the three wise men and the star that they followed to find Christ and His family.
You can purchase creches of every imaginable kind, but you can also make your own nativity sets.
What is your favorite way to remember the true meaning of Advent and the Christmas season?
More Resources to Keep the Meaning of Advent
More Resources to Keep the Meaning of Advent
Cranberry Punch or Soda
Use fresh cranberry and wassail spices to create a warm cranberry citrus juice or naturally fermented soda for your holiday meals and celebrations!
Salt Dough Ornament Recipe
Here's a simple salt dough ornament recipe that can be baked, painted and displayed for every holiday.
Counting Down to Christmas ~ A Danish Holiday Tradition
DIY Names of Christ Ornaments {Free Printable}
DIY Advent Calendar
How to make a DIY advent calendar with handmade ornaments
DIY Advent Calendar (with FREE Printables!)
The Jesse Tree: Our Favorite Advent Tradition
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