Feedback from First Wednesday meeting - 3 December

How do we prepare for Christmas in meaningful ways? Here are some traditions Iain Archibald shared about.

The first Advent wreath I remember seeing was 30 odd years ago in the German Church here in Marchmont when I was a student of German. It was impressive – giant-sized and suspended from the ceiling!

Since living in Germany (a year or two after that Marchmont Sunday), I have had a high regard for Advent wreaths, for two reasons – a) the making of them as a family and b) their use as a focal point on the family dining room or kitchen table. As you probably know, you light the first candle on the first Sunday of Advent, and so on up to the fourth Sunday. So you have 4 plain candles plus a fifth if you want: this fifth candle in the middle you light on Christmas Eve, or Christmas Day. Our kids loved our Advent wreaths, especially the privilege of lighting the candle. Again, this small ceremony and the prayer with it helped us focus on true anticipation of the true Christmas.

Another good German tradition: you can get ornate Advent candles, i.e. marked from 1 at the top down to 24 at the bottom, from e.g. John Lewis. You can have the children light this every teatime, not just every Sunday.

Also, let me tell you about the amazing wall-suspended “Advent calendar” my German agent’s family made for me (that was in my textile career, not the war!): this particular calendar was 24 individually and uniquely wrapped matchboxes, all wrapped in felt of different colours, each with a unique flower or abstract design etc – and all connected one above the other to a strip of felt which you suspend down a wall. Parents hide sweets in each one of the matchboxes late on Nov 30th. The children gape at it early on 1st December and get to open the lowest box and to eat the sweets inside. Again, this helps them count the days and to mark 24-25 December all the more meaningfully.

Finally, there is the “crib”, i.e. stable scene of, preferably, olive wood figures – the Holy Family, animals, shepherds, wise men, a star. We have a wonderful one (though I had to take a small kitchen knife to transform Mary’s glum expression into what has become a somewhat tiddly looking grin!). You may be able to get such a crib in the Palestinian Craft Shop in St George’s West. Imagine – olivewood carved in the Holy Land!

Happy Advent days. And may we also remember that Advent is also about looking forward to the Second Coming….

Back to top