If you’ve ever been over to the Jackson household during the month of December then you most likely witnessed my family lighting candles, singing songs and reading the same story every single night. If you grew up in a liturgical or even just traditional Christian home, you probably would recognize this event as Advent! Advent is an Old English word from the Latin word adventus which means “arrival”. The season of Advent marks the beginning of the Christian year and triggers a series of readings, prayers and holidays such as Easter and Mardi Gras. Advent begins four Sundays prior to Christmas with the lighting of a candle. You’ve probably seen an Advent wreath at some point in your life, so I’ll just be jogging your memory. Four candles are positioned in a circle formation around one large white candle in the center. On the first Sunday you light one candle and sing the first verse of O Come O Come Emmanuel. On the second Sunday you light two candles and add another verse to the song. On the third and fourth weeks this pattern continues until Christmas Day when you light one candle again. This time you light the big white candle; the Christ candle. You leave it burning all day long! Each candle holds a different significance. The first is the Prophecy candle. I love the beauty of the symbolism in one little light representing the years spent with only a prophet’s word to guide the Lord’s people. The second is the Bethlehem candle, then the Shepherd’s candle and finally the Angel’s candle. Each one adds a new element to the story and each sheds more light than the last.
For all of my life I’ve celebrated this season and spent every evening of December lighting candles and singing hymns. As a child, the lighting of a new candle symbolized little more than Christmas being closer than it was the week before. Until now, I’ve never had to really explain or introduce this concept to anyone. It was just a given that Advent would happen and that would be that. This year I wasn’t going to let a little thing like backpacking into South America and living with 7 other women halt my Christmas tradition. As a matter of fact, I was excited to let them in on it! As is the case with most parts of myself that I choose to share, I became afraid that my new family members wouldn’t enjoy this tradition and they’d think of it as weird or boring. The closer the day came, the more anxious I was that they would see this as some pretentious excuse to tout religion and theology around and I’d be left with a few candles and a box of matches on a dirty carpet in Chile.
Yet again I was wrong and my insecurity was pointless. I looked up at the women around me on the very first night of Advent and instead of boredom I was met with questions, curiosity and fascination. I was reminded that the way my heart swells when I look at that one little candle burning and sing the praise songs to the Lord isn’t because of tradition or religion. It’s the effect that the Holy Spirit has on the human heart when we look towards the Father and his Son. I could tell that my teammates felt it too! As much as we love the loud concerts and running through the pews shouting “Hallelujah!”, sometimes the still and solemn ancient traditions are necessary to remind us of the God we serve. That’s what Advent is all about. It’s the still and quiet act of looking for a Savior, finding him and celebrating his arrival. So that’s why I’m happy to share that tradition with you and I welcome you to join me in spirit for this holiday! Whether you’re in New Orleans or South Korea, Chile or Romania… Grab a few candles and sing along as we welcome our Savior into the world.
