The Surprising History of the Advent Wreath
5 untraditional tidbits about the Advent wreath and why I still make one
As a teenager, I remember a Lutheran friend sharing an Advent wreath she had made at church. This surprised me, as I had known it to be a longstanding Catholic tradition. “Good for them,” I thought. Only some years later did I realize that the tradition is neither distinctively Catholic nor longstanding.
Let me preface this whole post by saying I am not here to be the Advent wreath grinch. We use one in our own home. Good fruits surely come of it. I find the history of it interesting, and I think knowing the proper context of certain customs actually makes them more fruitful. How strange to me that contemporary Catholic sources often ignore the history of the Advent Wreath—simply attributing it to “obscure origins.”
One thing I love about the Catholic faith is that its great minds do not shy away from a good rational rabbit hole—nor from baptizing the sub-rational customs of the people. Here is a place where both inquiring minds and rooted hearts meet.
So, let’s dig in:
1. Scholars credit a Lutheran Minister with the creation of the Advent Wreath
Little did I know that my Lutheran friend probably thought it just as well that my family was taking part in a Lutheran tradition like the Advent wreath! Scholars credit a Lutheran minister, Johann Hinrich Wichern, for being the first to create something like the modern Advent wreath in the mid-19th century in northern Germany.
Wichern’s creation was much larger. There was a red candle for each day leading up to Christmas and a larger white candle for each Sunday. He was the founder of Das Rauhe Haus, a home for poor children. He used the wreath as a teaching tool, taking the opportunity to light a candle each day and tell the children about Jesus in the days leading up to Christmas.
Many admit or hint at similar practices already in use by Christians before Wichern’s version. When I first set out to write this post, I had a different angle in mind. I wanted to show that the Advent wreath was much more Catholic in its development than Lutheran.
This would require some specific instances of something like the Advent wreath being used by Christians more broadly—in Catholic homes or monasteries before Wichern’s iteration. Additionally, I wondered, might Catholics have played a role in its further development to only four candles?
But this led me to my next discovery:
2. There probably was not a formal Christian practice of the Advent wreath in the Middle Ages, but there was a Christmas hoop!
I’ve seen contemporary claims that the Advent wreath was in use by the Middle Ages, but I just haven’t found evidence for it.
I’m not alone. An Anglican scholar at a Catholic university makes a similar observation: there does not appear to be any reference to Advent wreaths in Christian texts until the twentieth century.
The traditional Catholic folks over at Tradition in Action have also scoured their medieval resources. The results are underwhelming as far as Advent goes. Early and medieval Christians used wreaths and evergreens in formal ceremonies like baptisms, weddings, funerals, and processions—but not in a formal Advent practice.
What is more likely is that wreaths and candles were common as seasonal décor, not a significant practice in anticipation of Christmas. Candles were hung on hoops like chandeliers as a nightly necessity and evergreens and wreaths were common in Advent and Christmas. They’ve long been used as symbols of life, for in the dark dreary days of winter when everything else appears dead, their branches remain ever green.
This leads us to the Christmas hoop, or the Star of Bethlehem, that could be found in churches in the Northern parts of Europe in medieval times.
“A pretty medieval practice was to hang a wooden hoop with candles on it in the midst of the chancel at Christmas in memory of the Star.” –The Parson’s Handbook, Percy Dearmer
From Christmas Eve to Candlemas there was a medieval tradition of raising a hoop in the middle of the chancel, or choir. This is where the clergy or altar boys sit just before the sanctuary or altar area. Five candles would be placed on the circle like the points of a star, and it was intended to represent the Star of Bethlehem.
Another scholar writes, “It seems to have belonged to Christmastide and to have been used in many places, but not to have had any special ceremony connected with it as the paschal candle had. It should perhaps be regarded more as a piece of decoration, such as the wreaths and banners which people put up now, than an ecclesiastical ornament.”
Of course, Wichern wasn’t creating out of whole cloth when he created his Advent wreath. Evergreens, hoops, candles, and all these things combined probably abounded, but it is a stretch to say there was a significant Advent practice too long before him—at least, not in wreath form.
3. The Advent Wreath had a Traditional Catholic Predecessor Called a Paradeisl
What is little known—or conveniently never mentioned—is that there already was a Catholic tradition of progressively lighting candles to mark the days through the dark nights of Advent. This tradition is the Bavarian Paradeisl.
This “little Paradise” calls to mind the Fall of Man in the Garden of Eden and the need for redemption.
The Paradeisl is not a wreath. It’s a pyramid. It forms a tetrahedron with four equilateral triangles held together by sticks stuck in apples and topped with evergreens and perhaps other natural ornamentations made from straw or nuts. The four apples are used to support four candles to count down the Sundays of Advent.
It is hard to say how far back the Paradeisl predates Wichern’s Advent wreath. We can trace the Paradeisl’s origins to medieval Paradise Plays. The first record of these plays dates back to the 12th century. It is harder to say when the Paradeisl itself was created and entered people’s homes because it was a private commoner practice, but variants, like the Klausenbaum, can be found dating back to at least the 15th century.
It is also hard to say how much these early variants functioned as a timepiece or were special to Advent. The Paradeisl is also compared to the Christmas tree—something you would light and sing carols around during Christmastide.
The Paradeisl was still a strong Advent tradition among Bavarian Catholics in the early 20th century. One Munich newspaper reported in 1933 that the paradeisl could be found in almost every “pre-Christmas room” (vorweihnachtlichen Stube)—that is, until the protestant Advent wreath began to generally replace it.
And so, you can see how the Advent wreath could be thought of a rival to Catholic tradition—at least in Catholic Bavaria.
4. There is no traditional blessing or liturgical ceremony attached to the Advent Wreath
The most convincing piece to me that the Advent wreath was not as longstanding or widespread as we often seem to think is that there is no blessing for it in the Rituale Romanum. The Rituale Romanum is the official book of ceremonies and blessings before Vatican II. There you can find blessings for all sorts of things that were born out of the customs of the people—various types of holy water, religious images, and so on.
Moreover, there was not even an official blessing for the Advent wreath in the years immediately following Vatican II. The Rituale Romanum got a makeover and became the Book of Blessings in the English-speaking world. It was only after a later revision of the Book of Blessings that the blessing of the Advent wreath was added—in 1989! Some of us are old enough to remember 1989!
The Advent wreath was not introduced to the Vatican until after Vatican II. I’ve seen it said that it was Pope John Paul II who first introduced the Advent wreath to the Vatican (if anyone has a primary news source for this, I would so appreciate you sharing!). He was also the first Pope to introduce the Christmas tree in 1982. Contrast this to the Crèche, which has been a long Catholic tradition.
This is nothing for Catholics to blush at. It makes sense to me that the Lutherans would be the frontrunners of the Advent wreath as they turned inward to the home and away from the Church and her liturgy. One contemporary Lutheran minister writes, “Although Advent is central to the start of the Church Year in Christian congregations, it is a season that finds its fullest expression in the homes of the faithful.”
Wow. What a stark contrast to the Catholic approach to Advent, which finds its fullest expression in the liturgy of Holy Mother Church!
Catholics were in less need of something like the Advent wreath when homes and villages were tied closer to the local church and the riches of public Masses and the praying of the Divine Office abounded. Today we rarely see the Divine Office and are lucky to have a single Rorate Mass during Advent. In older times it was not uncommon to light the dark cold winter mornings of Advent with daily Rorate Masses.
5. The traditional colors of the Advent wreath candles were red or white
Wichern’s version of the Advent wreath was eventually simplified to four candles representing each Sunday of Advent. These candles were either all white or all red, in keeping with his original design.
This is why if you ever see a picture of the pope with an Advent wreath the candles are red. In Europe this would be recognized as a traditional German look for the German Advent wreath.
The red color does not appear to be symbolic of anything. It is simply a nice color for the season. Personally, I like to think of the red color as an echo of the red apples of the Paradeisl and thus of the whole salvation story which finds the long-awaited Savior on Christmas Eve.
The switch to purple and rose candles did not happen until the 1940s in the United States. The red color smacked of commercialization and Protestantism. Two German Catholic émigrés, Therese Mueller, in consultation with Monsignor Martin B. Hellriegel, began to advocate for Advent wreath with purple and rose candles.
They thought these liturgical colors would better represent the Sundays of Advent and the spiritual preparation taking place. The Advent wreath was not yet popular in the United States and so the color change was easy to introduce.
And so, the Advent wreath got a Catholic make-over in its liturgical candle colors. This is the version that we would later see further popularized in Maria Von Trapp’s Around the Year, and one that American Lutherans have even adopted.
Why I still make an Advent wreath
We are several years into making a Paradeisl each year, but I still make an Advent wreath alongside it. Why?
It is very Catholic to baptize folk customs like the Advent Wreath
The Advent wreath is a domestic custom and not a serious liturgical issue. It is a folk custom, and the Catholic faith has been particularly good at absorbing and baptizing folk customs with great spiritual success. G.K. Chesterton contrasts it to those authoritative religions that spend more time suppressing these sorts of enthusiasms or “superstitions.” It is a great strength of Holy Mother Church that she may absorb these customs and the conversions of many with them.
I think this is important to keep in mind for not taking ourselves too seriously with it. There is no one right way to use an Advent wreath and if the Lutherans want to claim credit for its creation so be it.
Moreover, we can understand that the custom is no replacement for say, keeping extra attention to the liturgy (the Mass and Divine Office) or fasting during Advent.
The Advent wreath is rich in Catholic symbols
As I’ve mentioned above, the Advent wreath was not invented out of whole cloth but had a rich tradition of Christian symbolism to build upon. Wreaths and garlands, for example, had been used for centuries to symbolize victory of life over death or the temptations of the flesh.
Since the time of Wichern, the symbolism of the Advent wreath has been developed further by Catholics themselves, as we see with the example of the colors of the candles representing the liturgical year, but also with the attachment of liturgical readings and additional Catholic themes.
“For us it was not a question of whether or not we would have an Advent wreath. The wreath was a must. Advent would be unthinkable without it. …During these weeks of Advent it will be the only light for the family evening prayer. Its feeble light is the symbol and reminder of mankind’s state of spiritual darkness during Advent.”
Maria Von Trapp, Around the Year
The Advent wreath has become an established custom and brings forth spiritual fruits
It is a curious thing that something so relatively recent has become, as Kendra Tierney puts it, “an archetype of liturgical living in the home.” For many, the Advent wreath has been the first introduction to living closer to the liturgy. Let us praise God for that!
The Advent wreath has been encouraged by traditional-minded priests—such as Fr. Francis X. Weiser, author of Handbook of Christian Feasts & Customs (1950s)—for decades now. And of course, now it is approved and encouraged by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (which, I get it, is not necessarily a glowing recommendation).
As my husband noted, these things all start somewhere. Take the blessing of St. Torelli water for example. This official blessing in the Rituale Romanum was born out of the private devotions of the Italian peasants. Even the title of “Saint Torelli” was honored for their devotion to him in the official title of the blessing even though he is a blessed who to this day has not been canonized. The prominence of the crèche, too, had to start somewhere.
It is the custom that I’ve been handed by my own childhood to cherish and safeguard. And so, we don’t stress about it. It lights our dark days of Advent. We sing the Divine Office or Advent carols around it. It lights up our dinner table and our homeschool days in joyful anticipation of that Holy Night.
