What Are The Candles at Christmas Called?

An Advent candle is a candle marked with dates from December to Christmas Eve. It is usually used in homes rather than churches: each day in December, a candle burns for a period of time until the day marks the end, to indicate that the days leading up to Christmas have passed. As with reusable Advent calendars, some Advent candles mark days starting on December 1, rather than the exact start of Advent. Some families create Christmas decorations with evergreen branches and Christmas ornaments, with the candle placed in the center; others simply place it in a candlestick. It is usually lit at the family dinner each day.

Historical Origins

Advent candles are traditionally white, although other Christmas-themed colors have become popular. The custom of using Advent candles seems to have begun in Germany, where children traditionally inserted a small candle into a decorated orange. This candle is called a Christingle. It is now widespread in some other European countries, such as the United Kingdom.

In many Catholic and Protestant churches, the most popular colors for the four Advent candles are purple (or blue) and rose, corresponding to the colors of liturgical clothing on Advent Sunday. For denominations of the Western Christian Church, purple is the historical liturgical color for three of the four Sundays of Advent, as it is the traditional color of the penitential season; blue has also been used historically because it represents hope, reflecting the theme of Advent around the first and second comings of Jesus.

In other Protestant churches, especially in the UK, Advent wreaths are more commonly made with four red candles (reflecting their traditional use in Christmas decorations). The Advent wreath sent by the Catholic Church to Pope Benedict XVI also has four red candles. In the UK, the four red Advent candles are usually associated with the Advent readings in the Revised Universal Canon on Sunday, and each candle represents those who look forward to the coming of Christ: the hope of all God's people (first week), the Old Testament prophets (second week), John the Baptist (third week), and Mary, the mother of Jesus (fourth week).

Summary

If you don't know how to choose a candle, you can refer to the article about Christmas candles on our website. We have published many related professional candle sources and how to choose. You must first understand the relevant knowledge before buying holiday candles, so that it is not easy to make mistakes. I hope this article can help you!