Advent and Nativity: A Christ-Centered Christmas

What if you could spend the entire Christmas season focused on our Saviour’s birth? What if you could set aside all distractions and prepare your heart to make room for Him? The hustle and bustle of holiday shoppers surrounded by store decorations and Christmas music (not even out of October). Then there’s the unavoidable commercials asking if our gift lists were checked twice. Whew, just typing that, I felt my shoulders tense, and a quick desire for simplicity overcame me. 

Christmas comes with so many traditions and symbols that are unique worldwide, and while there are numerous, our family agrees that the one that means the most to us is the one that keeps Christ in the center of all we do.

WHAT IS ADVENT?

Advent begins the 4th Sunday before Christmas and comes to an end on Christmas Eve. It’s a beautiful time to unite as a family, and renew spirits and desire for the Lord more deeply. Advent comes from the Latin word adtvenive, which means “to come to” or “to come toward.” Hence, we are waiting for the arrival of Jesus’ birth. We create a special place where we can place a wreath, which symbolizes eternal life, and four candle spots within the wreath represent the four weeks leading to Christmas. The purple candles represent hope, peace, and love; the pink candle represents joy, which is Gaudete Sunday, meaning “Rejoice!” We rejoice because this marks the halfway mark of the advent season. A larger white candle symbolizing purity is often nestled in the center of the wreath. It is called the “Christ Candle,” and is lit on Christmas Day. 

HOW TO USE THE ADVENT WREATH:

Place a wreath in a quiet area allowing the entire family to gather around it. A simple evergreen wreath, 3 purple candles, and one pink, along with a candle lighter and snuffer to help protect your wreath from wax is all that you need. Along with the advent wreath, we also place a nativity scene nearby. Every year, my in-laws would give me a birthday gift with a note to select a piece for our nativity scene, and over the years, my nativity set has grown into the most beautiful nativity, which will be passed down one day to our son. Every year, we prepare a special spot for it and I fondly think of my in-laws and their kindness.

Finding a nativity set that little hands can enjoy and manipulate without worrying about breaking helps to encourage young hands to bring the abstract story of the birth of Christ to life. Also, it provides a meaningful introduction to the true meaning of Christmas. When our son was little, we often found Legos and Star Wars characters riding donkeys and camels. We certainly didn’t mind, for he was learning the story in his way. It was simple, and he was creating his sense of wonder. There was a lot of learning going on; he didn’t realize it.  

 Children should be encouraged and included during Advent activities, and since young children are still developing fine motor hand skills, turning on battery-operated candles can be a bit challenging, and open flames near young children are never a good mix, so we came up with this idea when he was young. This wreath is extra special because it is not only created by a young child but can also be “lit” by them. It’s an important tradition, and lighting a candle during Advent is a big deal to a child! Here is how to make it:

CREATING THE ADVENT WREATH

Materials:

• one paper or plastic plate
• 4 toilet paper tubes 
• 1 paper towel tube
• purple, pink, and white paint
• green tissue paper
• red metallic gift paper

1. Paint the four toilet paper tubes (3 purple and 1 Pink).
2. Paint the longer paper towel tube white.
3. Turn a paper plate upside down and glue the tubes in a circular pattern, leaving the white “Christ Candle” in the center and the pink candle third in the circle around the “Christ Candle,” marking the halfway point- (see photo).
4. Glue green tissue paper cut into small 2-inch x 2-inch squares twisted on the end of a pencil and glued to the bottom of the plate to make the tissue paper stick up to resemble the greenery of a wreath.
5. Bows or other decorations could be added to the plate to make it special if the child desires.
6. Cut 4-inch by 4-inch red metallic squares that hide in the tubes (candles). When it is time to “light” the candle each week during devotion time, the child pulls up the red metallic square leaving part inside it to resemble a flame. Blow it out by pushing the metallic red paper back into the tube. Easy, safe, and an important job to a child.

As each candle is lit,  scriptures and devotions are read, and we pray by candlelight. The prayers shared are short enough for a beautiful 15-minute respite during Advent to enrich our hearts and turn us toward Him. The devotion book we have enjoyed over the years is  https://maxlucado.com/products/in-the-manger/. While reading, we recognize that each candle brings us out of the darkness and closer to Christ. We are focusing not only on Christmas and Jesus’s birth but also on the hope we carry in our hearts for the Second Coming of Christ. We rejoice in God’s amazing love for us in the final week of Christmas. On Christmas day, we light the “Christ Candle,” representing the light of the world.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

For all of you waiting, may your family be surrounded by His light. May you hold His love deep in your heart as we mindfully seek the joyful moments, and patiently prepare one day for His return.