Advent is a season that fills me with love and hate, in almost equal amounts.

I love the idea. I hate the reality.

But I’ve come to find, especially this year, that I can choose my attitude (hard though that may be so often) and thus, my reality. Hosting this carnival is one way that has helped me to get outside of myself and enjoy the season.

So welcome to our carnival of Advent wreaths! (Updated with new additions at the end.)

My passion for Advent wreaths is thanks to an aunt (the one who loved The Sound of Music with such abandon). She would make such an adventure out of lighting the candles, and she always had a story about each candle. I’ve since found versions of the stories and shared them in various places, from our parish bulletin to my own book of Advent and Christmas reflections. (I can’t seem to find the original paper she gave me about nine years ago when I started teaching 3rd grade religious education classes, though.)

When I was shopping with my mother-in-law a number of years ago at our local Catholic store, we came across this Advent wreath. I was enchanted with the figures and went on and on and on about how it reminded me of my aunt and the stories she told as she lit the Advent candles.

My mother-in-law bought me that Advent wreath as a gift that year, and it has been a part of our Advent ever since. It’s made by Roman, Inc., though I’ve been unable to find it anywhere online.

(I’m not such a fan of how the tapers tend to tip and sway and need some extra help.)

I’m including the excerpts that we’ve used in our parish bulletin below, which I found online at Living Hope.

We light the candle by the Virgin Mary first, which my aunt called the Prophecy Candle.

The Prophecy Candle reminds us of the promise God made his people long ago and opens the period of waiting.

Then we light the candle with Joseph and the Baby Jesus, the Bethlehem Candle.

The Bethlehem Candle reminds us to make room for the needs of others, as the innkeeper did for Joseph and Mary. It is symbolic of the preparation being made in our hearts to receive and cradle the Christ Child.

This week’s candle is the Shepherd Candle.

This candle reminds us of the announcement to the shepherds of the birth of Jesus and typifies the act of sharing Christ with others.

The last week of Advent, we’ll light the Angel Candle.

The Angel Candle reminds us of the angel sent by God to tell of the birth of Jesus. It is the candle of love and the final coming.

The Christ Candle is in the center, and we light it (and all the others!) on Christmas (and until the end of the Christmas season, which, for us, usually goes at least for 12 days, until January 6, but sometimes as long as the Baptism of Our Lord).

The Advent season ends on Christmas when the Christ Child or Christmas candle is lit. This larger, central candle symbolizes Christ as the light of the world. Together with the other candles, it is a dazzling climax which reminds us of God’s great gift to us.

I didn’t realize, until I started collecting the submissions for this Advent Wreath Carnival, what a delightful and varied assortment there is!

Let’s take a look at our submissions, shall we?

Larissa Hoffman shared her wreath with me (and, in a way, inspired this carnival!) on St. Nicholas Day. It looks like her family is enjoying their wreath and using it pretty often.

Lorna Reine was inspired to hang her Advent wreath by Charlotte at Waltzing Matilda. She made the actual wreath at a parish event a number of years ago.

Heather Hampton says her Advent wreath is perfect for her family with five little ones (ages 8, 7, 5, 3 and 10 months). She says, “No one is reaching for the carrots and burning themselves on the flimsy taper candles.”

My friend Jodi Santini sent this picture in of her family’s wreath. She’s a member of my parish and, a number of years ago, she marked herself as my first godchild when she came into the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil. I particularly love the shiny ribbon.

Pat Gohn of Among Women may claim she’s craft-impaired, but her Advent wreath proves that her creativity wins over those struggles. She shares that this is “easily re-usable year to year. Colored ribbons denote purple & pink/rose colors on a wreath. Just add votive size candles or tea lights.”

Christine, who blogs at Domestic Vocation and is on Twitter as @CatholicMomVA, uses jar candles (very inexpensive from a certain unnamed big box store, she told me), and she said they last through all of Advent. I’ll bet they smell delightful, too!

Jen Minson transforms her prayer corner for Advent. Isn’t it lovely? I feel peaceful just looking at it.

Diane Brooke has a huge outdoor Advent wreath. They light a new candle each week. What a way to evangelize and share the season with others!

Lena Flores, of JOYfilled Family, has quite a flair for making her Advent wreath into a haven, don’t you agree?

Barb, of SFO Mom, is using the same Advent wreath her husband used while growing up, which must make the season feel so special to her family.

Ellen Thomas did quite a bit of cleaning to get me a picture of her Advent wreath, and over at her blog, Salome Ellen, she shares more than one picture. (I just lifted one of them for this carnival.) I wouldn’t mind sharing a cup of coffee with her at that table…how about you?

Kerri shared at Journal of a Nobody that her Advent wreath doesn’t have purple candles because she waited too long to try to get her candles. There’s a tradition, though, of red candles, especially in Protestant churches in Britain (according to Wikipedia…take it with a grain of salt…but I have seen red candles before).

Katie at Orange, Pink, and Green has an Advent wreath that touches my heart. That candle in the center? LOVE! She has a close-up of it over at her blog and explains how she made it (and I think that maybe, just maybe, I might try a version of it for myself).

Thanks to everyone for participating! I think I may have to include at least two more Advent wreaths in my home after this walk down Advent Wreath Lane!

Want to share YOUR Advent wreath? Go ahead and send it to me or link to it in the comments…I’ll update this post periodically and maybe we’ll do this again someday!

New additions (see? told you I’d keep updated…I can’t help it, I want to share them all!):

ViolinMama, from A Rosey Outlook on Life, has a brand-new Advent wreath (the one from her childhood is “lost” in storage).

Sanne, from the Netherlands, shared her wreath and she included a picture she’s working on of Mary and Joseph on their way to Bethlehem. (I’d like to see that when it’s done!)

GeekLady of Geek Tales has quite a lovely wreath, don’t you agree? I especially like the beverage that accompanies it (you mean I’m not the only one having that sort of week?). I like the shiny stuff around the candles, too. I have no illusions about this, though: she talks about making her own candles next year. Wow.

Jen at Happy Little Homemaker has an Advent wreath that screams “I know how to decoupage,” but isn’t it lovely, all the same? She said the evergreen branches didn’t last, though she had them in there earlier, before the needles fell off.

Renee sent me this via email. She shared, “Our family put this together a couple of years ago, using a wreath and some votive candle holders that slightly resemble wine glasses with long stems. We added all the decorations and ribbons. Every night in Advent we gather together to say our prayers, and for the past couple of years we have added the daily prayers from one of the Advent and Christmas books like this one.”

 

Melanie, from The Rosary Chick, has not one, but TWO, Advent wreaths. Pictured at the top is the wreath in her living room. The second picture is the one on her table so that they can enjoy it during dinner. She gets her kids involved in the lighting and praying and, well, every aspect of it. Since it’s unlikely I’ll be able to make it to her house for dinner this Advent, I’ll live vicariously through her post.