The Advent Wreath- a story of faith and compassion
November 19, 2008
The modern Advent wreath as we know it was created by German Theologian Johann Hinrich Wichern (1808-1881). Wichern best known for his leadership in Christian social compassion had founded a home for poor children. During the Advent season the children would daily ask in anxious expectation if Christmas had arrived. Wichern creatively converted a wagon wheel into a ring of candles (19 small red and 4 large white). He would light a small red candle everyday and a large white one on Sundays to signify the coming of Christmas. Arround 1860 people began to entwine the wooden ring with evergreen cuttings. By the beginning of the 20th century the Advent wreath had become a Christian tradition.
Traditionally the ring represents the eternal nature of God having no beginning and no end. The candles symbolize Christ as the light of the world. The successive accumulation of light represents the anticipation of the birth of Christ. The ever greens the eternal life of salvation.[i]
[i] Information gathered from Wikipedia
