The Candle of Peace ~ Advent Week #2

This past week as I was writing to a fellow design influencer who comes to Share Your Style on Wednesdays each week, it hit me just how much we all need each other. This year, especially, when worldwide we are or are becoming drained spiritually, physically and mentally, emotionally with either staying home all of the time or just from having to “deal with” the virus in our homes, at work and/or if a family member dies because of the virus, we are all worn thin…

This is what I wrote back:

The Spirit of Christmas and {the} sentimentality, the prayerful time, and beauty of the candlelight {of an Advent wreath} really hits home with me this year. I am missing my parents and now my father-in-law as they are no longer here, my grandmother Helen and the other grandparents I never really knew, and of course my kids who all live north and south of us…

I bet you have special people in your life who you are missing, too…

So today’s Advent post will focus on the peaceful and prayerful time of Advent as we light the second candle at our table…

We can use this time to pray for peace and restoration within our families, pray for peace throughout the world, and pray for the vaccines just coming out to help strengthen us against this virus.

When we pray, God hears our cries and give comfort where and when it is needed. He is good at that!

This has been a tough year all around, for everyone, but we will muddle through! I like what President Trump said at the beginning of this whole Covid virus time in January or February here in 2020: That we are in a war against this virus and so…

We will soldier on!

Makes me think of the British poster that was supposed to be destroyed at the end of WWII but a copy was found in a box years later: “Keep Calm and Carry On.” It’s true and really, what else can we do?!

In an article What is the Candle of Peace for Advent? in Christianity.com by Hope Bolinger, traditionally the three purple candles in the Advent wreath represent Hope, Peace and Joy. The fourth candle is pink and represents Love.

A fifth set in the middle of the wreath is white.

“It is either lit on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day depending upon the calendar year.”

When I picked up these candles sometime ago, I remembered the color combination wrong, so… I have had 3 pink and 1 purple, which are colors which are also often used in the lighting of Advent wreaths. Purple for Jesus’ royalty.

Here in this tablescape I thought I’d trade out the purple candle and bring in a deep navy blue one to pick up the blue-black in the small quilted table centerpiece I made many years ago.

Recently I found Claus Dalby through YouTube and Garden Answer, and Laura shared a video he made which included this festive tutorial on folding an easy-to-make Christmas tree napkin. This is the link to his Instagram post and I know he is also on YouTube.

These napkins are really easy to make and I’ll share my take(s) on them another day. 🙂 For now though know that Christmas trees, although their origins began with a Pagan holiday, Christians adopted the idea of decorating a Christmas tree to symbolize all the goodness of Christ Jesus and his birth and death for us.

What does the Christmas tree symbolize in Christianity?

“The Choice of the Evergreen – The evergreen tree is a tree that maintains its color throughout the year. Even in the depths of winter, the evergreen tree shows its life. This characteristic of everlasting life represents the life we have in Christ (John 3:16).

The Shape of the tree – The triangular shape of the Christmas tree has often been used to reference the Holy Trinity (Matthew 28:18-19). The upward pointing branches often symbolize our praise to God.

The Lights on the tree – For many Christians, candles or lights on the tree signify how Jesus came as the light into the world. The star placed atop the tree represents the star the wise men followed to Bethlehem (Matthew 2:9).

Presents Under the tree – For some, presents under the tree represent the gifts the wise men brought to Jesus (Matthew 2:11). For others, the presents represent the gift of salvation we have through Jesus (Romans 3:21-22).

The Cutting of the Tree – When the evergreen tree is cut, it is struck down to its death, only to be raised to glory in splendor as a decorated Christmas tree. This transformation of the tree symbolizes how Jesus died on a tree and was raised to new life on the third day.”

—Courtney Whiting, contributing editor – iBelieve.com https://www.ibelieve.com/holidays/the-ancient-history-and-meaning-of-the-christmas-tree.html

I’ll be praying for your continued good health until we can all get vaccinated against this century’s “Black Plague.” And I will be praying “without ceasing,” as we are instructed to do in 1Thessalonians 5.

I love the message of whole chapter but I’ll just include three verses here for you which kind of sum up today’s Advent wreath day of prayer:

16 Rejoice evermore. 17 Pray without ceasing. 18 In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

— the Apostle Paul in his first letter to the church of Thessalonica

Blessings to you, always,

Barb