Shamelessly ripped from ChristmasSprite
Germany is home to many beautiful Christmas traditions. In fact, many of the American Christmas traditions originated there. The Christmas season in Germany starts at the beginning of Advent, which is four Sundays before Christmas Day. In fact, Advent wreaths are one of the many symbolic German Christmas traditions. These wreaths are decorated with four candles around the outer circle and with one large candle in the middle. The four outer candles symbolize the 4,000 years that the world had to wait for Christ’s coming. One candle is lit the first Sunday of Advent with two being lit the second Sunday and so on. The large candle in the center is lit on Christmas Day.
Guten Abend! When I moved into my new place, I was intrigued by a wreath decoration on the coffee table with four large red candles around the outer circle. What struck me even more was that only one candle was lit. A small glow from a sole candle illuminated the dim room. Tina explained to me that, in German tradition, each candle is lit on each Sunday before Christmas Day. So the candle that was lit on the day I moved in marked the first of four Sundays before Christmas Day, or Advent Sunday. So, if I ever need to remember the first day of my tenancy, I'll just casually say Advent Sunday. The first Sunday of Advent was 30th November where a single candle is lit, the second Sunday was 7th December where two candles are lit, and so on. At the time it mostly washed over my head, and all I remembered at the time was it was a German thing.
And so I (mostly) observed Tina lighting each candle each Sunday, all the way to Sunday 14th where three candles were lit. However, midweek, Tina left for Deutschland to be with her loved ones over the Christmas season, leaving an uneducated Kiwi bloke-cum-consultant at home alone with the Advent wreath. With her not around, who was going to light the final candle? Surely not the uneducated Kiwi bloke-cum-consultant! This person doesn't even know the tradition, the protocols, or what it really means to light those candles. And if he did, he'd likely set the house on fire!
Days passed. And I thought about that final candle on the Advent wreath. It was taller than the other candles. The wick was still white having not being lit up. How did I notice these minor details? The final candle obstructs my view of the TV from where I normally sit! I didn't dare move the Advent wreath to another place on the coffee table, in case someone might notice and give me an earful. And I was far too comfortable in my normal seat to move to another seat. But if the candle shrank a few inches in height from the burning process then I could get an uninterrupted view of the box. What a great idea! I had to act quickly though; the Sunday before Christmas Day was going by very fast and there was still no one around to light that final candle.
So I did some research. I googled "german tradition 4 candles christmas" and came across ChristmasSprite. And from that site, I finally realised the significance of the Advent Wreath. I also googled "advent wreath" and finally learned a bit of the history and symbolism behind it.
Plucking up some courage, I resolved to light the final candle, Sunday 21st December, 5:00 pm. It wasn't the time I was required to light the candle by tradition; it was just a round hour I decided on, it was the time I finished my research and days in the UK are normally dark before 5:00 pm. One by one, I lit those candles for the final time, from the first Sunday to the next, until I reached that final untouched candle. With Tina not around to do it, I felt really happy to continue on her behalf. I felt like I had found a new sense of Christmas cheer within me.
So what have I learned from this moment?
Coming from a place where Christmas is celebrated in the summer around a barbeque, a swimming pool and loads of beer, I was never aware of Advent wreaths and their significance to Christmas. I have never even heard of Advent Sunday before. From what I've seen in New Zealand, people do display wreaths, and other decorations, around and outside the house. But I think in an average kiwi household, Advent wreaths aren't displayed on coffee tables. And maybe it is less likely that they would observe each Sunday leading up to Christmas Day by lighting each candle. In a recent New Zealand Herald poll, the question posed to readers was What does Christmas mean to you? The majority of voters chose family ahead of the birth of Christ. It's interesting to note that both New Zealand and Germany have Christianity as the largest religious denomination, yet the Germans seem to take it one step further; when celebrating the birth of Christ, they light candles on the Advent wreath. I suppose it's not a kiwi thing to do. In some ways, and lots of people say this time and time again, this shows how much culture and history Aotearoa really has!
I suppose in some ways, having grown up in New Zealand all my life, I have been insulated from all these cultures and traditions, partly because of my unwillingness to learn, partly because these things aren't really recognised in New Zealand. Hence why I described myself as an uneducated kiwi bloke-cum-consultant! But now I'm here in Europe on my OE, and living with a German lady has exposed me to a little bit of German Christmas tradition. Learning about Advent Sunday and the Advent Wreath was the first step I've made in learning about these ancient Christmas traditions from other countries. I would never have gathered this if I was still in New Zealand. In saying that, a kiwi Christmas involving barbeques and pavlova would be completely foreign to those in the northern hemisphere, just as a white Christmas and the lighting of candles is completely foreign to a kiwi like myself.
So, as a final act, and in an attempt to be more cultured, I lit the final candle. I intend to leave all four candles burning, until the end of Sunday, or until I can see the TV uninterrupted.
Here's a couple of pictures of our Advent wreath, with all four candles lit, in its full glory! The first picture has that holy glow effect, which I think is quite fitting for the Christmas season.
Auf Wiedersehen!
Germany is home to many beautiful Christmas traditions. In fact, many of the American Christmas traditions originated there. The Christmas season in Germany starts at the beginning of Advent, which is four Sundays before Christmas Day. In fact, Advent wreaths are one of the many symbolic German Christmas traditions. These wreaths are decorated with four candles around the outer circle and with one large candle in the middle. The four outer candles symbolize the 4,000 years that the world had to wait for Christ’s coming. One candle is lit the first Sunday of Advent with two being lit the second Sunday and so on. The large candle in the center is lit on Christmas Day.
Guten Abend! When I moved into my new place, I was intrigued by a wreath decoration on the coffee table with four large red candles around the outer circle. What struck me even more was that only one candle was lit. A small glow from a sole candle illuminated the dim room. Tina explained to me that, in German tradition, each candle is lit on each Sunday before Christmas Day. So the candle that was lit on the day I moved in marked the first of four Sundays before Christmas Day, or Advent Sunday. So, if I ever need to remember the first day of my tenancy, I'll just casually say Advent Sunday. The first Sunday of Advent was 30th November where a single candle is lit, the second Sunday was 7th December where two candles are lit, and so on. At the time it mostly washed over my head, and all I remembered at the time was it was a German thing.
And so I (mostly) observed Tina lighting each candle each Sunday, all the way to Sunday 14th where three candles were lit. However, midweek, Tina left for Deutschland to be with her loved ones over the Christmas season, leaving an uneducated Kiwi bloke-cum-consultant at home alone with the Advent wreath. With her not around, who was going to light the final candle? Surely not the uneducated Kiwi bloke-cum-consultant! This person doesn't even know the tradition, the protocols, or what it really means to light those candles. And if he did, he'd likely set the house on fire!
Days passed. And I thought about that final candle on the Advent wreath. It was taller than the other candles. The wick was still white having not being lit up. How did I notice these minor details? The final candle obstructs my view of the TV from where I normally sit! I didn't dare move the Advent wreath to another place on the coffee table, in case someone might notice and give me an earful. And I was far too comfortable in my normal seat to move to another seat. But if the candle shrank a few inches in height from the burning process then I could get an uninterrupted view of the box. What a great idea! I had to act quickly though; the Sunday before Christmas Day was going by very fast and there was still no one around to light that final candle.
So I did some research. I googled "german tradition 4 candles christmas" and came across ChristmasSprite. And from that site, I finally realised the significance of the Advent Wreath. I also googled "advent wreath" and finally learned a bit of the history and symbolism behind it.
Plucking up some courage, I resolved to light the final candle, Sunday 21st December, 5:00 pm. It wasn't the time I was required to light the candle by tradition; it was just a round hour I decided on, it was the time I finished my research and days in the UK are normally dark before 5:00 pm. One by one, I lit those candles for the final time, from the first Sunday to the next, until I reached that final untouched candle. With Tina not around to do it, I felt really happy to continue on her behalf. I felt like I had found a new sense of Christmas cheer within me.
So what have I learned from this moment?
Coming from a place where Christmas is celebrated in the summer around a barbeque, a swimming pool and loads of beer, I was never aware of Advent wreaths and their significance to Christmas. I have never even heard of Advent Sunday before. From what I've seen in New Zealand, people do display wreaths, and other decorations, around and outside the house. But I think in an average kiwi household, Advent wreaths aren't displayed on coffee tables. And maybe it is less likely that they would observe each Sunday leading up to Christmas Day by lighting each candle. In a recent New Zealand Herald poll, the question posed to readers was What does Christmas mean to you? The majority of voters chose family ahead of the birth of Christ. It's interesting to note that both New Zealand and Germany have Christianity as the largest religious denomination, yet the Germans seem to take it one step further; when celebrating the birth of Christ, they light candles on the Advent wreath. I suppose it's not a kiwi thing to do. In some ways, and lots of people say this time and time again, this shows how much culture and history Aotearoa really has!
I suppose in some ways, having grown up in New Zealand all my life, I have been insulated from all these cultures and traditions, partly because of my unwillingness to learn, partly because these things aren't really recognised in New Zealand. Hence why I described myself as an uneducated kiwi bloke-cum-consultant! But now I'm here in Europe on my OE, and living with a German lady has exposed me to a little bit of German Christmas tradition. Learning about Advent Sunday and the Advent Wreath was the first step I've made in learning about these ancient Christmas traditions from other countries. I would never have gathered this if I was still in New Zealand. In saying that, a kiwi Christmas involving barbeques and pavlova would be completely foreign to those in the northern hemisphere, just as a white Christmas and the lighting of candles is completely foreign to a kiwi like myself.
So, as a final act, and in an attempt to be more cultured, I lit the final candle. I intend to leave all four candles burning, until the end of Sunday, or until I can see the TV uninterrupted.
Here's a couple of pictures of our Advent wreath, with all four candles lit, in its full glory! The first picture has that holy glow effect, which I think is quite fitting for the Christmas season.
Auf Wiedersehen!
2 comments:
Nice post, I enjoyed it.
I know us Lutherans in Australia and New Zealand light wreaths over the Advent period but honestly would have no idea if it is followed by other denominations.
I always thought you had a bit of german in you, herr doctor
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