Advent: what the four candles mean and where the wreath comes from

The four candles on the Advent wreath stand for the four Sundays before Christmas – each Sunday one more is lit, and week by week it grows brighter. The most common interpretation links them to hope, peace, joy and love. The wreath was invented by Johann Hinrich Wichern in 19th-century Hamburg. At Good-Natured in Dresden, we take a look at what lies behind the wreath, the candles and the colours – and how to spend the four weeks with intention.

“Advent means arrival. It describes something that is not here yet – it is not a countdown.”

Who invented the Advent wreath?

It was invented by Johann Hinrich Wichern, a theologian and educator from Hamburg, in the 19th century. He looked after children in an orphanage who kept asking him how long it was until Christmas.

His solution was a large cartwheel with candles – a small one for every day and a large one for every Sunday. That way the children could see for themselves how much longer they had to wait. The wreath of fir branches with four candles that we know today is a heavily condensed version of it.

What do the four candles on the Advent wreath mean?

There is no single, binding interpretation – several are in circulation, and they don’t contradict each other. The most common one assigns hope, peace, joy and love to the four Sundays.

What all interpretations share is the principle: each Sunday, one more candle is lit. It gets brighter every week, and that is the whole message – the announcement of a light that is not here yet but is drawing closer. By the way, three of the four words also appear in the fruit of the Spirit – at Good-Natured you’ll find them as posters: Peace, Joy and Love.

Advent is not the run-up to Christmas

In the church calendar, the first Sunday of Advent begins the new church year – not the end of the year, but its beginning. And by their origin, the four weeks are a time of waiting and restraint, not of celebration.

That runs pretty much against a December full of parties, markets and office dinners. There’s no need to turn it into a lecture – but it’s a helpful thought for anyone who wonders every year why they arrive at Christmas Eve exhausted.

Filling the four weeks – without a programme

What works best in families is something small that stays the same every week. Four ideas that need no preparation:

A candle and a passage every Sunday. The Christmas story in four parts – Luke 1 and 2 divide up nicely. One song a week, the same one all seven days; that way children can actually sing along. One letter a week to someone you’ve lost touch with. Give one thing away each week – from your cupboard, not from the shop.

An Advent calendar without plastic

A shop-bought calendar is convenient and usually a lot of packaging for very little inside. A homemade one can simply be twenty-four slips of paper, each with something to do together – small fillers for the Advent calendar can also be found among our postcards and socks.

Conclusion

Four candles, four Sundays, a little more light every week – Advent needs no more mechanics than that. If you keep the weeks emptier rather than fuller, you actually arrive at Christmas Eve. At Good-Natured, that is exactly what we wish for you – and if you’d like to give something small, you’ll find ideas among our Christian gifts. What to wear to church at Christmas and what to give as a gift are covered in separate articles.