Advent, Advent, ein Lichtlein brennt
Erst eins, dann zwei, dann drei, dann vier
Dann steht das Christkind vor der Tür
(Deutsches Volksgedicht)
Advent, advent, a flame is lit
First one, then two, then three, then four
Then Christmas is in front of your door.
(German folk poem)
This Sunday, the famous Adventszeit begins. A reflective time which is very sacred to many Germans, particularly focusing on the four Sundays before Heiligabend, Christmas Eve. Usually, every household either purchases or makes their own advent wreath, called Adventskranz, which consists of fir tree branches, festive decorations such as bows, fir cones etc. and, most importantly: four solid candles.
On each Advent’s Sunday, a new candle is lit, celebrating and counting the time before Christmas. The first Sunday has one candle lit, the second one has two and so on, until all four candles burn, happily awaiting Christmas. A clever way to keep all four candles beautifully aligned and equal in their importance is to start with four candles that differ in height, but have the same width. So the first candle to be lit will be the tallest, as it will be lit throughout all four weeks, and the following ones will be progressively shorter to allow time for the previous candle to burn down to the height of the candle that gets lit on the next Sunday.
Time to enjoy hot tea, Advent cookies, friends and family around the Adventskranz!
