Twitter
Facebook
“Advent, Advent a little light is burning. First one, then two, then three, then four, then the Christ Child is at the door.” Germans of all ages know these words inside and out. The Advent season is celebrated the four Sundays before Christmas.
What does Advent mean and what does it have to do with Christmas? The word Advent stems from the Latin word “adventus” and translates into “arrival,” which refers to the arrival and birth of Jesus Christ. The Advent season was introduced by the Romans about 500 years after the birth of Christ. They used the time to prepare for Christmas. Even today, Christians see the Advent season as a wait time to prepare for Christmas. Traditionally, the Advent wreath and the Advent calendar are part of the Christmas Eve tradition, which has been in existence for about 250 years.
The Advent wreath is usually a ring braided from fir, which is decorated with four candles and Christmas decorations. On every Advent Sunday, another candle is lit, so that on the fourth Advent Sunday all candles are lit.
Johann Wichern founded the tradition of the wreath in 1839. Wichern led an orphanage in Hamburg and wanted to show the children how many days and weeks until Christmas. He took a large wooden wheel of an old carriage and placed 28 candles on it, 24 were small red candles and four were bigger white candles. He then hung the wreath up in the orphanage. The red candles symbolized working days and the white ones Advent Sundays.
Today, the Advent wreath only contains four candles. As they grew in popularity, families wanted to have these wreaths in their homes. However, it was often difficult to find room for a large wheel with 28 candles. Therefore the size of the wreath and the number of candles had to shrink. Many countries have adopted this beautiful tradition.
Along with the Advent wreath tradition, children hang up an Advent calendar, filled with chocolate and small toys.
Another reason for the Advent calendar’s growing popularity had to do with creating a sense of excitement. It was created to make time until Christmas Eve pass faster for children. Parents came up with different options to highlight the special and festive season.
Since the first beginnings in the 19th century, individual advent calendars have been created with passion. It is no longer just children who receive Advent calendars, adults also receive them. In the 1930s, the Advent calendar began to spread worldwide to places like Britain and the United States. Millions of Advent calendars are now produced in Germany, more than half go abroad.
Though its shape and appearance have changed over the years, the mission of the Advent calendar remains the same: to express the uniqueness of the Christmas season and to build anticipation for Christmas Eve.
Happy Holidays.
