“REJOICE!”
Well, we are almost at the third week of advent, all of us incredibly busy preparing for Christ's birthday.... I did another article for our church bulletin focussing on Advent and the tradition of the Advent wreath. Enjoy! ;~)

The name Advent comes from the Latin words, advenire (to come to) & adventus (an arrival), and refers to Christ's coming into this world. Advent is the time the Church invites us to prepare for the celebration of Christmas. We remember the anniversary of our Lord’s birth, and look to His Second Coming. We are called to prepare ourselves by prayer and works of penance, much like at Lent. If you have ever wondered how the Church determines when Advent begins, it is always the Sunday closest to 30th November, the feast of St Andrew. It is interesting to note that the first Sunday of Advent is also the first Sunday of the new Church liturgical year. I always think of the Advent song “People Look East” telling us to “make your house fair as you are able, trim the hearth and set the table”. This is not unlike what many of us do at the beginning of the calendar New Year in our resolutions to “clean up and make fair” a part of our physical lives.
Advent is a time of preparation and joyful expectation of the coming of the Lord. Many of us use an advent wreath to symbolize the advent (coming) of Light into the world. The Advent wreath, of German origin, is comprised of four candles, three candles purple, and one pink, arranged in a circle of evergreen boughs. Some wreaths have a fifth, white candle in the middle.
The gradual lighting of the four candles symbolize not only our expectation and hope in Our Savior's first coming into the world, but also in his Second Coming.
The purple candles reflect the contemplative nature of the season, and symbolize repentance. The pink candle is burned beginning with the third week of Advent to symbolize the "half-way" point in the dark time of waiting. The third Sunday of Advent is called "gaudete," Latin for "joy," which is the spiritual focus for this week of Advent. Interestingly, it also used to be known as “Refreshment Sunday”. When it was traditional to follow a disciplined fasting during Advent, Christians were allowed extra sustenance this day, often in the form of hot cross buns. (And you thought they were only for Easter!) The pink candle also stands as the sign that Light overcomes darkness. (When the first two candles are lit there are still two dark, it is half and half, but when the third is lit “Light” wins!)
There are many and varied traditions around the meaning of each particular candle. Historically, the candles have a twofold purpose: they represent the foundations of our walk as Christians, and each candle represents our ancestors in faith:
First candle: Faith - the Patriarchs
Second candle: Joy - the Prophets
Third candle: Love - John the Baptist
Fourth candle: Hope - the Virgin Mary Readings for the 3rd Sunday in Advent call us to rejoice and exult with all our hearts; God is our salvation. By counting the Sundays of Advent with lighted candles, we prepare for welcoming the One True Light. In the words of Isaiah the prophet: “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light”. Let the Advent wreath, with its’ pink candle of joy, remind us to be that joy and light to the world.