Celebrating Advent in Your Home
Advent begins the fourth Sunday before Christmas and culminates on Christmas Day. During this time, many churches display a wreath of evergreens and candles, lighting the appropriate candles while reading scripture each Sunday and on Christmas.
The Advent season can also be celebrated in your home in a similar way. This website is meant to facilitate that by posting daily Bible readings that will take you from readings in the book of Genesis (the beginning) through the birth of Jesus and prophesies of His coming return and our time with Him in future eternity. Each Bible reading is designed so that it can be read in about five minutes, but, the time of meditation, prayer, song, and discussion can be extended for as long as you wish.
Candles
On the First Sunday of Advent, the first purple candle will be lighted and will remain lit while reading the scripture for that day. This same candle will be relit each day for that day’s readings.
On the Second Sunday of Advent, the first candle and a second purple candle will be lighted and relit for each of the readings of that week.
On the Third Sunday of Advent, the first two purple candles and the pink candle will be lighted and relit for each of the readings for that week.
On the Fourth Sunday of Advent, the first three candles and the last purple candle will be lighted and relit for the readings of that week.
On Christmas day, the White Candle in the center is lit and remains lit for the readings and prayers and for as long as you wish that day.
The candles are usually arranged in a circle, usually as part of an evergreen wreath with the colored candles on the outside and the white candle in the middle. It can be displayed in a prominent place where you can gather for the daily readings.
The shortening of the candles is a great visual for the shortening of time before Christmas.
