Make an Advent Wreath for Your Family

Step 19: Advent devotions for use with your Advent wreath

You can download free audio daily devotions for use during Advent at this link from Lutheran Hour Ministries in St. Louis. You can search the Internet for Advent devotions offered by others. (If the link goes away, you can also search for <Lutheran Hour Ministries Advent devotions>.) Or, Amazon has quite a number of devotions for Advent from Max Lucado and others that you can purchase. With all that are available, you should be able to find a series that suits your tastes.

The weeks leading up to Christmas can be hectic with all of the activities we believe necessary to prepare for Christmas--sending Christmas cards, shopping for gifts, decorating, hosting and attending parties, and accommodating guests, etc. When Germans want to wish each other a Merry Christmas, a frequent greeting seen on Christmas cards and elsewhere is, "Dir ein besinnliches Fest," which is, "(I wish) to you a contemplative celebration." An Advent wreath coupled with family Advent devotions can shift your focus away from hectic activities that may not really be necessary to some quiet contemplation of Jesus' coming and birth, and that can make your Christmas very meaningful.