For most people advent candles are related more to the Roman Catholic Church, particularly since "advent" is a word derived from Latin meaning "arrival." In the Roman Empire the word referred to the arrival of a person of great power and importance, consequently, for Christians, it symbolizes the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, advent candles symbolize the coming and the birth of our Lord.

Facts about advent candles

Advent candles usually appear in the form of an advent wreath, this is a set of four candles joined together and combined with evergreen cuttings, they are used by many types of Christians in the advent season for simple devotion. Typically there were two colors used : three violet and one pink. When it is used for devotion purposes, the violet candle is lit in the first day of the advent season, the next week the second violet candle and after that the pink one. Finally in the coming week, the pink one will be burned. So as anyone can see advent candles have mostly a devotion role, they somehow bring a warm feeling of peace in the homes where they are used.

Many other "Christian" Churches that split some time ago from the Roman Catholic Church like the Lutherans, Anglicans, Methodists and many other so called churches changed the violet with blue, while others use only white candles. Purple is used as a color that symbolizes penitence, while blue is thought to be the color of hope. In other advent candle combinations a bigger white candle is present in the middle and is lit on the celebrated day for a special event. Some people believe that the wreath symbolizes God's eternity, violet stands for the faithful expectation while pink for hope. Not many years ago the advent had a stronger penitential aspect.

Do Advent candles have any hidden meanings?

The first advent candle in the grouping is called the "prophet's candle", it symbolizes the prophets' hope in the arrival of Jesus Christ, the second one is known as the Bethlehem candle as it represents the coming of God's Son to save us; candle number three is called the shepherds' candle and is the symbol of joy, the last candle is the angels' candle as it suggests peace and love. Advent candles are part of the Catholic tradition, but they are also commonly used in Churches that have split from the Roman Catholic Church some time ago.