An Advent candle is a

candle A candle is an ignitable candle wick, wick embedded in wax, or another flammable solid substance such as tallow, that provides light, and in some cases, a Aroma compound, fragrance. A candle can also provide heat or a method of keeping time. ...

marked with the days of December up to

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. Christmas Day is observance of Christmas by country, observed around the world, and Christma ...

. It is typically used in a household rather than a church setting: each day in December the candle is burnt down a little more, to the mark for the day, to show the passing of the days leading up to Christmas. As with reusable Advent calendars, some Advent candles start marking the days from 1 December, rather than the exact beginning of

Advent Advent is a season observed in most Christian denominations as a time of waiting and preparation for both the celebration of Jesus's birth at Christmas and the return of Christ at the Second Coming. It begins on the fourth Sunday before Chri ...

. Some households will make a Christmas decoration out of sprigs of

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

and Christmas ornaments, with the candle at its center; others will simply put it in a candlestick. It is usually burned at the family evening meal each day. Advent candles are traditionally white, though other Christmas-themed colors have become popular. The custom of having an Advent candle seems to have started in Germany, where children traditionally insert a small candle into a decorated orange. This candle is called the '' Christingle''.Henderson, Helene, ed. "Advent." Holidays, Symbols and Customs. Vol. 4. Detroit: Omnigraphics, 2009. It is now widespread in some other European countries such as the United Kingdom.

References

Candle A candle is an ignitable candle wick, wick embedded in wax, or another flammable solid substance such as tallow, that provides light, and in some cases, a Aroma compound, fragrance. A candle can also provide heat or a method of keeping time. ...

Candles {{holiday-stub