Contents Introduction Why Is the 3rd Sunday Pink Paraments and Vestments Advent Wreath Names of the Candles/Sundays Christmas Appointments in Advent The Christmas Tree The Crèche Paschal Candle Other Candles Flowers

Introduction

This page covers matters related to worship appointments for Advent.

If you have not reviewed the general information on planning liturgy, worship appointments, etc., please do so at our Worship Aids page.

Why is the 3^rd Sunday Pink?

Paraments and Vestments (Colors)

There are two different traditions with respect to the color for Sundays of Advent. Both are acceptable:

• Purple tradition: This is the older tradition, predating the LBW. Purple is used for the 1^st, 2^nd, and 4^th Sundays in Advent. The 3^rd Sunday in Advent (Gaudete Sunday) is pink/rose. If the congregation does not have pink/rose paraments/vestments, purple is used on Gaudete. Ideally, purple paraments and vestments should not be dominated by Lenten ornamentation, but this cannot always be helped. Paraments and vestments are expensive, and we working with what we have is reasonable.
  
• Blue tradition: All Sundays of Advent are blue. This is a more recent innovation and not indicated in the rubrics until the introduction of the LBW. If the blue tradition is followed, Gaudete Sunday is blue, not pink/rose.

Pr. Wichern's Adventskranz.*

The Advent Wreath

There has long been debate about the origins of the Advent wreath. Some argue for a pre-Christian origin. Others place the beginning point among 16^th-century Germans. Much of the debate focuses upon what exactly we mean by the term Advent wreath. The modern Advent wreath, however, is fairly well dated to 1839 and a certain Pr. Johann Hinrich Wichern, administrator of the the Rauhes Haus in Hamburg, Germany. Wichern, being daily pestered by the boys in his orphanage regarding the arrival of Christmas, set up a wagon wheel with candles on it as a way to mark the passage of time for his wards. That wheel not only had candles for each of the Sundays (white) but also for all the weekdays (red). Learn more about Wichern, the Rauhes Haus, and his Adventzkranz at https://www.rauheshaus.de/wir-fuer-sie/adventskranz/. The wreath migrated into the Protestant churches in Germany and eventually beyond. Its place in the sanctuary is relatively recent in terms of church history.

For those wishing to use an Advent wreath in the sanctuary, the following is offered as advice.

Where to place the wreath

There is no particular place that is designated for the wreath. It should be placed neither on the altar nor on the baptismal font.

When to light the candles

• For services other than vespers: The Advent wreath may be lit well before the corporate worship service of the congregation begins or it may be lit at the time when the other candles are lit for worship. The reverse pattern is followed when extinguishing. While numerous rituals have developed in recent years around the lighting of the Advent wreath, these should be left to home devotions or as devotions for Sunday school, Bible study, fellowship meals/events, or council/committee meetings. They have no reasonable place within the context of the mass or the corporate prayer offices (apart from vespers). Consequently, the candles of the wreath are lit simply with the same solemnity employed in lighting the other candles. For a discussion of wreath lighting ceremonies, click here.
  
• For Advent vespers: Since the lucernarium is part of the vespers liturgy, the Advent wreath is lit during the singing of the Phos hilaron ("Joyous light of glory...") as are the other candles in the sanctuary.

Arrangement of candles and sequence of lighting

There are two different arrangements of candles

• Purple tradition: Three purple candles and one pink/rose candle. When using a pink/rose candle, it is lit on Gaudete (3^rd) Sunday of Advent. Consequently, the candle opposite the Gaudete(pink/rose) candle is lit on the 1^st Sunday of Advent.
  
• Blue tradition: Four blue candles are used.

Except for the use of the Gaudete candle (mentioned above), it really doesn't matter which candle is lit the 1^st Sunday of Advent. Once that first candle is lit, however, it is always the first candle lit throughout the weeks. It does not matter whether one lights clockwise or counterclockwise, but, after a direction has been established, it is followed throughout the season. Do not try to light the candles in alternating fashion in an attempt to get them to burn down evenly. They are a clock and, therefore, should reflect the passage of time. At the end of advent, they may be melted down and new candles made from them, or they may been given away for use by the poor (after giving thanks for their use in the church).

Removing the wreath

The Advent wreath has no place in the Christmas Eve service as Advent is over at that point. It should therefore be removed prior to the Christmas Eve service.

Names for the Candles/Sundays

Another "tradition" that has emerged in recent decades is the idea of naming each candle/Sunday. True, many Sundays do have names, those names dating back centuries before the Reformation. In fact, many of Luther's sermons are named according to this system. These names persisted among Lutherans as standard language into the late 20^th century: Invocabit (first Sunday of Lent), Guadete(third Sunday of Advent), Septuagesima (three Sundays before Ash Wednesday) are just a few examples. Many, though not all, of these names for the Sundays were drawn from the first words of the Latin introits used for each of the Sundays. If you have an old Service Book and Hymnal (1958) or Common Service Book (1917), you will find them on the calendar located in the early pages of the hymnal. According to this scheme, the Sundays for Advent are Ad te levavi, Populus Sion, Gaudete, and Rorate. It should be noted that the Common Service (the liturgy of both the Common Service Book and the Service Book and Hymnal) still employed the introit, and so the congregants heard the pastor or choir sing (or recite in the case of many pastors) the English translations provided below.

When one goes online (or digs out any one of several old Advent resources published in the mid to late 20^th century), one will find various names given to the days like hope, joy, peace, etc. Comparing them, one will find a lack of consistency. These more recent schemes have no firm roots in the history of the church. They are usually modern fabrications passed off as traditions. While it is true that all traditions have a beginning at some point history, it seems a little silly to take something developed five decades ago to be tradition while ignoring something developed fifteen centuries ago that persisted until the replacement of the Service Book and Hymnal in 1978.

What to do? Well, we'd hardly recommend discarding banners and the like that employ any one of several modern schemes. Use them until they wear out (or you get tired of them). When it comes time to replace them, consider conforming to the elder tradition of the church. These scriptural quotes draw us into the themes of Advent. How might one incorporate them into the service or the appointments of the church? Certainly, one could fabricate banners employing these texts or the worship bulletins could include them (either as a matter of locally generated cover art or as a devotional resource within). For recommendations on how to incorporate the introits into the liturgy, visit our Worship Aids: Liturgy for Advent page.

Christmas Appointments in Advent

The Christmas Tree

Like the Advent wreath, the Christmas tree was not originally associated with the sanctuary; its place was the home, but it too migrated into the sanctuary, though, again, more recently than most people realize. On one hand, the fact that it is called a "Christmas tree" suggests pretty clearly that it is not appropriate to Advent. On the other hand, keeping the Christmas tree out of the sanctuary until Christmas eve (or, at least, until after the last Advent service) is probably a losing battle. If the Christmas tree is erected during Advent, consider not lighting it until Christmas eve as a way of marking the distinction between the two times and as a way of highlighting the high feast of the Nativity of Our Lord. For discussion of ornamentation, lighting, and removal of the Christmas tree, refer to the "Christmas Tree" section of our Appointments for Christmas page.

The Crèche

The crèche (manger scene) is a common feature in homes and  churches. We're working on an article in anticipation of Advent 2024 and Christmas 2024-2025.

Paschal Candle

• The Paschal candle is not lit during Advent except for baptisms and funerals.
• The Paschal candle is never incorporated with the Advent Wreath.
• The Paschal candle normally stands by the font even when not in use.

For more on the proper use of the Paschal candle and details for its use in baptisms and funerals, visit our Paschal Candle page.

Other Candles

The lighting and extinguishing of candles for the Sunday morning service is a matter of local custom. Some congregations have rather elaborate rituals for doing so. Others struggle to find acolytes. If lighting and extinguishing the altar candles has become a challenge, a congregation might follow the advice found in the Manual on the Liturgy–Lutheran Book of Worship, lighting the candles well before the service and extinguishing them well after the service, doing so decorously but without pomp and circumstance. This, then, can be done by ushers, the sexton, the altar guild, the pastor, etc. without vesting.

Flowers

Flowers are lovely and a fitting adornment. Flowers, however, should not placed on the mensa (tabletop of the altar). Most non-freestanding altars feature a gradine (a raised shelf at the rear of the altar). Flowers may be placed on the gradine along with altar candles. A freestanding altar (or communion table) poses a challenge to flower placement. If there is an old high altar with gradine in the apse or a reredos with shelves for flowers, the problem is solved. Flower floor stands can be used, or the flowers may be simply set on the floor in the front of the altar as it is faced by the congregation, assuming the pastor presides from the other side. Flowers should not pose a fire hazard in their placement or a tripping hazard. Flowers should not be placed in or on the baptismal font.