Advent Wreath


For as long as I can remember, my family has set up an Advent wreath every year, lighting a new candle each Sunday of the Advent season until we reach the Christ candle in the centre on Christmas day itself.  This Sunday ritual is one of my favourites, so when I realised I'd be spending the entire season of Advent in my own place and not at home, I knew I needed to set up an Advent wreath for myself.

I could have bought one but I didn't like any of the options I could find in my price range, so I decided to devise my own.  I knew I wanted something rustic, unpolished.  My first thought was to use a grapevine wreath as a base, but all the ones I found were so rigid and densely woven it would have been hard to affix the candle holders.  But a trip to Hobby Lobby produced a hank of raffia and a coil of floral wire wrapped in green fibres.  


After some experimentation I formed the wreath by braiding the raffia tightly, then twisting and tucking the ends into each other.  (Conrad ran off with several strands of raffia during this process; he was convinced the whole procedure was for his benefit!)  Then I fashioned candle holders out of the wire, forming "cups" out of coiled wire, then using the ends of the wire to fasten the holders to the raffia wreath.  The final step was to wrap the wreath with a length of wide gold ribbon which I had lying around.

Purple or royal blue are the traditional liturgical colours of Advent.
I put my "Christ candle" in the middle on a glass candle base I already owned, and surrounded it with evergreens clipped from the bushes in the garden.  


I like the end result!  It's definitely "rustic" (perhaps a little too much so, but it suits me).  I don't know whether it will hold up to years of being packed up and re-used, but for this year, I love it.  I lit the first candle yesterday for a few hours; it was comforting to be carrying on this familiar ritual.

Comments

  1. I love it! Always wanted to have an advent candle, maybe this year is the year!

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  2. It's absolutely fabulous! We don't have an advent candle and I was wondering how to go about making a homemade one. I love how yours came out. It's perfect. I love that it is so pure and simple.

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  3. Thanks :-) It was pretty easy to make once I figured out how to combine the materials I have! And "pure and simple" is exactly what I was going for.

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  4. Looks great, Gillian. I was out of town so I haven't taken ours out yet. Lighting the advent wreath is one of my favorite things to do. We are starting our advent readings today.

    Mine is just a carved wooden base so last year I added greenery and it make it so much nicer. Of course, now I have to watch out for wax dripping but it's worth it. :)

    Joy

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  5. Someday, I would love to have a wooden one. But my woodworking skills don't extend so far and I have a limited budget! Yours sounds lovely :)

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  6. I loves it! May I please please please use the picture for my Advent devotionals on my blog? PLEASE? *begs*

    I'm pre-scheduling the post to go up in the morning, but I'll delete the picture if I don't hear back from you before that :)

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  7. Rebekah, please use it! I'd be honoured :-) I'm glad you like it!

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  8. Yay, thanks so much!

    Here's the link to the first one, so you can see it :)

    Advent Devotional - Mary

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