The Advent wreath is a circle of evergreens with four candles, one for each Sunday before Christmas: three purple and one rose. Each Sunday you light one more, read a short verse, pray together and wait for Jesus, as the light grows week by week.
Week 1 · November 29
We light the first purple candle. Advent has begun, and we wait for Jesus with hope, like Mary when the angel told her God’s plan.
Because no word shall be impossible with God. (Luke 1:37)
Week 2 · December 6
Two purple candles now. We ask God to make our hearts and our home peaceful, ready for Jesus, the Prince of Peace.
Glory to God in the highest; and on earth peace to men of good will. (Luke 2:14)
Week 3 · December 13
The rose candle! Christmas is close, and the Church calls this Sunday Gaudete, which means “Rejoice!”.
Fear not; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, that shall be to all the people. (Luke 2:10)
Week 4 · December 20
All four candles are lit. God loves us so much that he sent his Son to be born as a little baby in Bethlehem.
For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting. (John 3:16)
Open the Advent calendar: a door a night→
Print the Advent wreath coloring page→Purple is the color of Advent, a time of prayer and getting ready, so three candles are purple. The rose candle is for the third Sunday, Gaudete Sunday, when the Church rejoices that Christmas is near. The evergreen circle has no beginning and no end, like God’s love, and the light grows each week as Jesus, the Light of the World, comes closer.
Light the first candle on the first Sunday of Advent, November 29 in 2026, and one more each Sunday. Many families light that week’s candles every evening, at dinner or before bed, and say a short prayer.
A purple one. Light a second purple candle on the second Sunday, the rose candle on the third, and the last purple candle on the fourth. Some families add a white candle in the middle and light it on Christmas.
It grew from old winter customs in Germany and spread to Catholic homes and churches in the 1900s. The Church has a blessing for the Advent wreath in its Book of Blessings, and many parishes bless families’ wreaths on the first Sunday of Advent.