Advent Candles
Although there are several variations for lighting Advent candles, here is one suggestion.
Each week, at a time when the family can be together, select one person to light the candle for the week. After the candle is lit, proceed with your family prayer time, including the selected reading. Each subsequent week, light the candle for the new week as well as all of the previous candles. (You will need 5 purple candles, 1 rose-colored candle and 1 white candle for the season.)
November 15--the beginning of Advent. Light a purple candle.
With the lighting of the first candle, everyone says together:
Glory to Thee, O Lord, glory to Thee!
Then, one member of the family reads the following verse:
Christ is the Light Whose rays shine to the ends of the earth.
He commanded you, O Holy Apostle Matthew, to proclaim His Word.
He made you worth to write His Holy Gospel.
Pray that He may enlighten and save our souls.
And, all together, say:
O Lord, we will walk in the light of Thy countenance,
and will exult in Thy name forever.
Every creature made by You offers You thanks:
the angels offer You a hymn;
the heavens, a star;
the magi, gifts;
the shepherds, their wonder;
the earth, its cave;
and we offer You a Virgin Mother.
O God, Who are from all eternity, have mercy upon us.
from Vespers of the Nativity
Additional Readings: Genesis 1:1-5 and Psalm 18
November 16
Readings: Genesis 1:6-8 and Psalm 104
November 17
Readings: Genesis 1:9-13 and Psalm 113
November 18
Readings: Genesis 1:14-19 and Psalm 19
November 19
Readings: Genesis 1:20-23 and Psalm 102
November 20
Readings: Genesis 1:24-31 and Psalm 8
November 21--the Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple. Light a purple candle.
With the lighting of the second candle, everyone says together:
Christ is born! Glorify Him!
Then, one member reads (or the whole family may sing the troparion):
Today is the prelude of the good will of God,
of the preaching of the salvation of mankind.
The Virgin appears in the Temple of God,
in anticipation proclaiming Christ to all.
Let us rejoice and sing to her:
Rejoice, O Fulfillment of the Creator's dispensation.
And, all together, say:
My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior.
According to the law of mortal man,
You appeared as a babe and accepted
To be wrapped in swaddling bands;
Thereby You loosened the bands of my
Offences, bestowing freedom on those
Who cry aloud to You: O God, our
Deliverer, blessed are You!
from Matins of the Forefeast of the Nativity
Additional Readings: Genesis 2:1-7 and Hebrews 9:1-7
November 22
Readings: Genesis 3 and Romans 3:21-26
November 23
Readings: Genesis 6:11, 9:8-13 and Ephesians 4:17-5:2
November 24
Readings: Genesis 12:1-7, 17:1-8 and Hebrews 11:1-40
November 25
Readings: Genesis 22:1-7 and Galatians 4:1-7, 21-31
November 26
Reading: Genesis 28:10-22
November 27
Readings: Genesis 37:1-4, 45:1-15 and Psalm 46
November 28
Readings: Exodus 12:29-36, 14:8-28 and Psalm 106
November 29
Reading: Joshua 3
November 30--Commemoration of St Andrew. Light a purple candle.
With the lighting of the third candle, everyone says together:
Christ is born! Glorify Him!
Then, one member reads:
Rejoice, O Isaiah,
Receive the Word of God and prophesy to Mary the Maiden...
Adorn yourself, O Bethlehem;
Open your gates, O Eden.
Enter, O Magi, and see salvation swaddled in a crib.
Behold the Star is shining above the cavern:
It announces the life-giving Lord who saves the human race.
And, all together, say:
The heavens are telling the glory of God,
and the firmament proclaims His handiwork.
The Creator, when He saw man perishing,
Whom He had made with His own hands,
Bowed the heavens and came down.
From the divine and pure Virgin
He took all of man's substance,
Being made truly flesh:
For He has been truly glorified.
from Matins of the Nativity
Additional Readings: Judges 16:19-31 and Psalm 67
December 1
Reading: Ruth 1:15-22
December 2
Readings: 1 Samuel 16:1-13 and Psalm 2
December 3
Readings: 2 Samuel 5:1-5 and Psalm 132
December 4
Readings: 1 Kings 3:1-15, Proverbs 9:1-12 and Psalm 72
December 5
Readings: Isaiah 42:5-9 and Psalm 111
December 6--Commemoration of St. Nicholas. Light a purple candle.
With the lighting of the fourth candle, everyone says together:
Christ is born! Glorify Him!
Then, one member reads:
Make ready, O cave, for the Virgin comes, bearing Christ in her womb.
O manger, accept Him who has saved us by His word...
You shepherds abiding in the fields, bear witness to this wonder
And you Magi from Persia, offer to the King gold, frankincense
and myrrh,
For the Lord has appeared from a Virgin Mother...
And, all together, say:
Sing praises to our God, sing praises;
Sing praises to our King, sing praises.
"GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST,"
I hear today in Bethlehem from the angels,
glory to Him whose good pleasure it was
that there be peace on earth.
The Virgin is now more spacious than the heavens.
Light has shone upon the darkness,
and has exalted the lowly who sing like the angels:
GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST!
from Great Compline of the Nativity
Additional Readings: 1 Kings 18:1-24, 36-39 and Psalm 91
December 7
Readings: Isaiah 9:6-7, 11:1-10 and Psalm 110
December 8
Readings: Jeremiah 23:1-6, 31:31-34 and Micah 4:1-7
December 9
Readings: Daniel 6 and Daniel 2:31-37
December 10
Readings: Nehemiah 4 and Psalm 87
December 11
Readings: Luke 1:5-17 and Colossians 3:1-17
Two Sundays before Christmas--Commemoration of the Holy Forefathers. Light a rose-colored candle.
With the lighting of the fifth candle, everyone says together:
Christ is born! Glorify Him!
Then, one member reads:
Come, let us all celebrate the Fathers before the Law,
Our yearly commemoration of Abraham and those with him.
Let us rightly honor the tribe of Judah,
And praise the youths in Babylon who quenched the flames in
the furnace.
For they were an image of the Trinity:
With them, let us praise Daniel,
And holding fast to the predictions of the prophets,
With Isaiah let us cry aloud:
"Behold, a Virgin shall conceive in the womb and bear a Son,
Emmanuel, Who is 'God with Us'"
And, all together, say:
God is wonderful in His saints, the God of Israel!
What mysteries beyond mind and speech!
God in His compassion is born on earth.
He puts on the form of a servant that
He may snatch from servitude to the enemy
those who with fervent love cry out:
BLESSED ARE YOU, O SAVIOR, WHO LOVES MANKIND
from Matins of the Forefeast of the Nativity
Additional Readings: Luke 1:57-80 and Ephesians 5:8-19
December 13
Readings: Luke 2:1-5, 10:38-42 and 11:27-28
December 14
Readings: Micah 5:2-4 and Matthew 2:1
December 15
Readings: Luke 2:6-7 and Hebrews 2:10-18
December 16
Readings: Numbers 24:17-18, Matthew 2:2 and Luke 2:22-35
December 17
Reading: Matthew 2:1-10
December 18
Readings: Matthew 2:11-12, 10:27-39
The Sunday before Christmas--Commemoration of the Holy Fathers. Light a purple candle.
With the lighting of the sixth candle, everyone says together:
Christ is born! Glorify Him!
Then, one member reads:
Rejoice, O Bethlehem! Prepare yourself, O Ephratha!
The Lamb is on her way to give birth
to the Chief Shepherd she carries in her womb.
The God-bearing Forefathers will rejoice on seeing Him,
And with the shepherds, they will glorify the Virgin nursing Him.
And, all together, say:
Blessed art Thou, O Lord God of our Fathers,
and praised and glorified is Thy name forever!!
Greatly rejoice, O Heaven: Be glad, O earth.
For the Lamb of God has been born on earth,
granting the world forgiveness.
The Word Who is in the bosom of the Father
has come forth without seed from the Virgin.
The Magi were struck with wonder
seeing Him in Bethlehem as a child;
and all things give Him glory.
from Matins of the Forefeast of the Nativity
Additional Readings: Isaiah 65:25 and Hebrews 2:1-9
December 20
Readings: Luke 1:11-13, 1:26-38 and Hebrews 1:1-14
December 21
Reading: Luke 2:8-20
December 22
Readings: Psalm 23 and John 10:1-16
December 23
Reading: Matthew 1:1-25
December 24
Readings: Isaiah 7:10-16, Luke 1:39-56 and Psalm 45
Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Light a white candle in the center of all of the other candles.
With the lighting of the seventh candle, everyone says together:
Christ is born! Glorify Him!
Thy Nativity, O Christ our God
Has shown to the world the light of wisdom,
For by it those who worshipped the stars
Were taught by a star to adore Thee
The Sun of Righteousness
And to know Thee, the Orient from on high.
O Lord, glory to Thee!
Let all the earth worship Thee and praise Thee.
Let it praise Thy name, O Most High!
Heaven and earth are united today,
for Christ is born.
Today God has come upon earth
and man gone up to heaven.
Today for man's sake is seen in the flesh
He who by nature is Invisible.
Therefore let us also give glory
and cry aloud to Him:
Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, which your Coming has bestowed upon us,
O Savior: Glory to You!
Additional Readings: Luke 2:1-20 and Luke 14:16-24
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