Advent Wreath

First Candle

Color: Purple
Theme: Hope
First Sunday in Advent

Second Candle

Color: Purple
Theme: Love
Second Sunday in Advent

Third Candle

Color: Purple or pink
Theme: Joy

Third Sunday in Advent

Fourth Candle

Color: Purple
Theme: Peace

Fourth Sunday in Advent

Optional Center Candle

Color: White
Theme: Christmas
Christmas Day

What the Advent Wreath Means

Historically, the candles have no more meaning than a countdown. That is, they originally stood for 4, 3, 2, and 1. However, people like for things in the church to have symbolic meanings, so the candles have gradually acquired the meanings I gave you above. If someone in your church tells you that the candles have some other meaning than Hope, Love, Joy, or Peace, they aren’t wrong, they are just different. The meanings are so new that they aren’t completely standardized.

In some locations, the third candle is pink, in others the fourth candle is pink; in still others, all four candles are purple. The purple candles are lit during Advent, when the liturgical color is purple, and the white candle is lit on Christmas Eve (that is, after sundown), when the liturgical color is white. So that explains the colors of the purple and white candles—they just match the liturgical decor. But what about the pink candle, if there is one?

The pink candle is becoming more and more popular, but it has a strange origin. Long ago, the pope had the custom of giving someone a rose on the fourth Sunday in Lent. This led the Roman Catholic clergy to wear rose-colored vestments on that Sunday. The effect was to give some relief the solemnity of Lent, so this was a very popular custom. Originally—before shopping malls—Advent was a solemn fast in preparation for Christmas, so the custom was extended to the third Sunday in Advent to liven it up a little bit, too. Somewhere in there the third candle of the Advent wreath turned pink. Meanwhile, Advent is no longer solemn and the pope no longer has the custom of giving out roses. It is kind of odd to think that a Methodist would put a pink candle in a Lutheran Advent wreath because the pope used to have the custom of giving out roses, but sometimes we’re a little more ecumenical than we realize!

Remember, if 24 December is a Sunday, it is the Fourth Sunday in Advent until sundown, at which time it becomes Christmas Eve. (Eve means evening, after all!)