The Advent wreath is a Christian tradition that symbolizes the passage of the four weeks of Advent. It is usually a horizontal evergreen wreath with four candles. On the First Sunday of Advent, the first candle is lit. An additional candle is lit during each subsequent week until, by the last week before Christmas, all four candles are lit.
This Christmas decoration follows a slightly different approach, while retaining the evergreen look, the candles and Christmas ornaments. It is one of my wife’s creations. She always adds beautiful seasonal decorations to our house and this is one of the most beautiful I have seen so far. It went together with a nice walk in the woods to gather the seeds and the moss used in this arrangement. I’m posting this today as it is lit for the second Sunday of Advent. I wish you all a very happy Advent season.
More of my advent pictures www.flickr.com/photos/adelmann/4143177389/ and www.flickr.com/photos/adelmann/2219977268/
The ring or wheel of evergreens decorated with candles was a symbol in northern Europe long before the arrival of Christianity. The circle symbolized the eternal cycle of the seasons while the evergreens and lighted candles signified the persistence of life in the midst of winter. Some sources suggest the wreath–now reinterpreted as a Christian symbol–was in common usage in the Middle Ages, others that it was not established as a Christian custom until the 16th century in Germany. Johann Hinrich Wichern (1808-1881), a Protestant pastor in Germany and a pioneer in urban mission work among the poor, is widely credited with inventing the Advent wreath as a way to count the days of Advent as they moved towards the Christmas feast. During Advent, children at a mission school founded by Wichern would ask daily if Christmas had arrived. In 1839, he built a wooden ring (made out of an old cartwheel) with 19 small red and four large white candles. A small candle was lit successively every weekday during Advent. On Sundays, a large white candle was lit. At the beginning of the 20th century the Advent wreath had become a German custom and eventually in many other countries all over the world as well. (Source: wikipedia)
Suggest to view it Large and on Black
Posted by anadelmann on 2008-12-08 03:27:04
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