Apple and Berries Advent Wreath

The Apple and Berries Centerpiece Advent Wreath brings a hint of nature to the traditional wreath. Composed of metal, natural vine, pinecones, and plastic, this wreath makes a beautiful centerpiece in your home for the Advent season. The wreath is 14 inches in diameter. Four wax candles, three purple and one pink, are included with this wreath. The candles are 10 inches tall.

The origins of the Advent wreath are found in the folk practices of the pre-Christian Germanic peoples who, during the cold December darkness of Eastern Europe, gathered wreaths of evergreen and lighted fires as signs of hope in a coming spring and renewed light.

Christians kept these popular traditions alive, and by the 16th century, Catholics and Protestants throughout Germany used these symbols to celebrate their Advent hope in Christ, the everlasting Light. From Germany the use of the Advent wreath spread to other parts of the Christian world.

Traditionally, the wreath is made of four candles in a circle of evergreens. Three candles are violet and the fourth is rose, but four white candles or four violet candles can also be used. Each day at home, the candles are lighted, perhaps before the evening meal-- one candle the first week, and then another each succeeding week until December 25th. A short prayer may accompany the lighting.