Anticipating Christmas Around Your Advent Wreath

Join Lisa Hendey for a weekly series designed to prepare you to celebrate Advent this year.

I invite you to join me for a moment of daily prayer around the Advent wreath beginning on Sunday, November 27 at 5 pm ET/2 pm PT. I’ll be live on my Facebook profile and sharing the video each day at Youtube and Instagram as well. We’ll be praying with my new Advent devotional 5 Minute Prayers Around the Advent Wreath. Be sure to download my FREE companion resources (Praying with the Saints and Advent Reflections for Families with Children) at Ave Maria Press. I can’t wait to pray with you this Advent season! 

Our five weeks of focusing on the season of Advent and how to pray together around our Advent wreaths are drawing to a close. When we began this conversation, pumpkin spice was all the rage, and we hadn’t yet celebrated Halloween. Today, the wonderful season of Advent is only one week away. That’s how quickly time flies amidst life’s busyness and bustle! 

The same will happen once we start counting down the days to Christmas. Around our wreaths, we can turn inward, toward one another, and most importantly toward Christ. But surrounding us, the rest of the world will focus on gift purchases, holiday decorations, and the many social events that fill our calendars during the busy month of December. I try my best to live in a world that encompasses the best of both. 

I’m not an Advent purist. In our family, we listen to Christmas music before the dishes have even been cleared from our Thanksgiving table. But I do love that the season of Advent reminds us of the larger purpose for our celebration of the Nativity. Many families and individuals choose to forego symbols of the Christmas season entirely until the season actually begins. They extend their celebration after Christmas, to align with the Church’s liturgical calendar. How you decide to celebrate this season in your home is up to you.  

Here are a few thoughts on anticipating Christmas around your Advent wreath: 

Do your best.

I already know that there are going to be days when my daily Advent wreath time does not look like the serene moment I hope for and envision. My calendar has me on the road a lot in December, which means that some days I will light my wreath at home, but other days my devotional time will happen on the fly. In your home, it’s possible you will miss days around your wreath. In the past, I would be tempted to just give up if I had more than a few days when I missed prayer time. I’m asking you to go gently on yourself, and I’m reminding myself to do the same. 

Focus on Jesus.

One of our main goals during Advent is to keep our eyes fixed upon the “reason for the season”. Consider ways to unite your prayer time to our celebration of Christ’s birth and second coming. You might place your wreath near your nativity scene. You might invite your children to write a letter to Baby Jesus or participate in creating a soft bed for Baby Jesus by collecting “hay” for the manger when they perform good deeds. You might print an image of Jesus or place a holy card near your wreath. Anything we can do to focus our gaze on Christ will help us tune into what matters most during Advent. 

Anticipate with delight.

The joy of a child anticipating Christmas is infectious. You might consider including the opening of your family’s Advent calendar as a part of your daily wreath time. Count the days and make the most of them! In 5 Minute Prayers Around the Advent Wreath, I end each day’s prayer session with the simple phrase, “Come, Lord Jesus; come quickly!” In 1 Corinthians 16:22, St. Paul writes, “Marana tha.” When we pray during Advent, let us unite our voices in the hope that Christ will come again in glory and love. 

Around our wreaths, we can turn inward, toward one another, and most importantly toward Christ. #catholicmom

A question for you: How do you hope to anticipate Christmas around your Advent wreath? What challenges will you face in making time each day for a time of quiet devotion and prayer? How can you make the most of this daily moment of joy and love? 

Copyright 2022 Lisa M. Hendey
Images: Ave Maria Press
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