Our Advent mantel through the years.

And the holidays season is here! I am still running up and down with the end for the school year activities. Is crazy, crazy! but I managed to set up (I should say improvise) our Advent table just on time.

Sunday the 30th of November, marks the beginning of the season of Advent, which kick-start the preparation for Christmas with all its frolic, fun and blessings that come with it.

In our house we count down to Christmas Eve with an Advent table set up with four candles. Every Sunday before Christmas, one candle in the table is lit until all of the candles are lit on Christmas Day.

And as we haven’t decided the Christmas colors for this year yet, we went for a natural- earthy colors theme until we do so.

There is many different ways to arrange the Advent mantel as different meanings attach to the advent candles. Some use four candles, others five ,with the fifth to be lit on Christmas eve. It will all depend on your religion or traditions.

We use four candles. Each candle represents an aspect of our values as a family and it stand as a reminder of the spiritual preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.

NOV 30 : first candle meaning “Hope”
DEC 7 : second candle meaning “Love”
DEC 14: third candles is lit meaning “Joy”
DEC 21st: Fourth candle meaning “Peace”

My kids learn every Sunday about the meaning of each candle and that every Christmas is a new opportunity for us to be born again into those values.

It is most probably that as we decide in the theme colors of this Christmas we will rearrange our Advent table. But for now this is how it looks tonight with our first candle of HOPE, lighting up our home and our hearts as well.