German Advent Calendar: Fact of the Day

5. Dezember – Der Adventskranz

The Advent wreath tradition is part of the religious observance in preparation for the arrival, or “advent” of the Christ Child. On each of the four Advent Sundays leading up to Christmas a new candle on the wreath is lit. But the original Advent “wreath” had more candles and no evergreen wreath.

Ein Adventskranz mit vier brennenden Kerzen. An Advent wreath with four burning candles. FOTO: Andrea Goldmann

History
The concept of the Advent wreath probably originated among German Lutherans in the 16th century. However, it would be another three centuries before the modern Advent wreath – complete with candles – appeared. Most historians today consider Johann Hinrich Wichern (1808–1881), a Protestant pastor in Hamburg, Germany, to be the father of the modern Advent wreath. Wichern invented the candle wreath in 1839, after the children at his Rauhes Haus mission school had been constantly asking if Christmas Eve had yet arrived. The pastor built a large wooden ring (using an old cartwheel) adorned with 20 small red, and four large white candles. In the fashion of today’s Advent calendar, a new small candle was lit on each weekday and Saturday during Advent. On Sundays, a large white candle was lit. The custom became popular among Protestant churches in Germany and soon evolved into the smaller evergreen wreath with four or five candles known today. The wreath custom did not become common in the United States until the 1930s. Today Hamburg’s main Christmas market commemorates the original Wichern wreath by displaying a large version with the original number of 24 candles.

Der Adventskranz, the Advent wreath, is one of the most widespread Christmas customs in German-speaking Europe. As we mentioned before in Der Adventskalender (Dec. 1), Advent is the four-week period leading up to Christmas. For Catholics and Protestants the Advent season begins on the first Sunday after November 26. On each of the four Advent Sundays leading up to Christmas, a new candle (die Kerze) is added to the Advent wreath. Advent wreaths come in many versions (pine, wood, plastic, metal, etc.), but they are always round and feature four (sometimes five) Advent candles. In the photo above you can see that the wreath is now in the fourth week of Advent, with all four candles burning.

MORE > Advent Customs in Germany

For more about Christmas in German-speaking Europe, see the page links below.

Back | Advent Calendar with Christmas Facts

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