01.01.00. Advent Devotional
CELEBRATING ADVENT IN GERMANY
Celebrating Advent is a fairly recent Christmas tradition of German origin. Advent is Latin for “coming towards”. The Latin, “ad”, means “towards” whereas “ven/vent” is core of the Latin verb “veno”, meaning “come”. Advent refers to the days approaching the coming of Christ to earth. More specifically, in the German tradition, it refers to the 24 days immediately preceding Christmas day, from December first.
One of the most widely celebrated advent traditions is having an advent calendar. The Advent calendar finds its origins in the 19th Century from the protestant area of Germany. Protestant Christian families made a chalk line for every day in December until Christmas Eve. Before long, commercial entrepreneurs started replacing the ephemeral chalk lines with printed calendars. The first known Advent calendar is for the advent of 1851.
Soon, other devices helped Germans and German immigrants to America celebrate the advent. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, the Adventclock or the Adventcandle - a candle for 24 days until Christmas - were found in many homes. The first printed calendar was made by Gerhard Land (1881-1974) who was a Swabian parishioner from Maulbronn in Germany. When he was a child his mother made him an Advent Calendar with 24 “Wibbele” (little candies). Later Lang was a participator of the printing office Reichhold & Lang where he published miniature colored pictures which could be affixed on a cardboard at every day in December. This was the first printed Advent calendar, although without windows to open, published in 1908. The celebration of advent and the associated Advent Calendar caught on like wildfire in the early decades of this century. However, despite the great success of Lang’s Advent calendar, he had to close his company in the 1930s due to World War II. The same war ended this German practices in many homes and certainly stopped the increase of this tradition. The first printed versions of the calendar after the war were printed by Richard Sellmer in 1946. Advent calendars continue to be printed to this day.
GERMANS, MARTIN LUTHER AND THE CHRISTMAS TREE
According to legend, Martin Luther invented the modern concept of the Christmas tree while walking through the woods one Christmas Eve. He allegedly observed the starlit sky sparkling through the branches of fir trees and this sighting moved him to chop down the tree, take it home and erect it. He then adorned it with candles to share his vision with his children.
However, written evidence confirms that the Christmas tree was in German Alsace around 1521. It was clearly established in early 17th century Strasbourg, Germany. Strasbourg’s families decorated their Christmas trees with colored paper roses, apples, wafers, spangle-gold and sweets. The first public display of a Christmas tree, decorated with bright read apples, occurred in Strasbourg.
During the 19th century, glass artists in Lauscha, Germany created ornaments in front of the lamp, using claylike molds to create the first glass ornaments…blown glass interpretations of the fruits and nuts that traditionally ornamented Christmas trees. THE NUTCRACKER In the toy making center of Sonneberg in the Thuringian Forest there was mention in 1735 on “nut-biters”. These nut-biters were described as sturdy, energetic forms with large heads. In a carnival parade in 1783, students from Freisingen, Germany presented large models of Berchtesgaden wares, including a nut-biter in the form of a little man whose mouth and stomach were one and the same.
CELEBRATING ADVENT AS A FAMILY The Christmas season is one of joyful anticipation for many, but especially to those who truly understand its meaning and its significance as the birth of our Savior, the Son of God, Jesus Christ. What better time to focus on the Christ child: why He came, who He is, and what He did for us.
It is our prayer that you approach this season with a plan of how to enjoy it as a family, keep the right focus and make memories as a family. There is no better or special place to be during Christmas than in Germany where many of our traditions for celebrating originated. In addition to the daily devotions we have included some other suggestions that you can use to make this a meaningful and joyful family celebration. These ideas emphasize love, the family, and giving of ourselves during the Christmas season. At the back of this booklet are stories of how some of the Christmas traditions we celebrate started in Germany.
FAMILY ADVENT DEVOTIONS
Within this book there are daily devotions for each day beginning the first Sunday of Advent. All you need is this booklet, a Bible, the family, and a little time. With our busy schedules, this is harder than it sounds. It takes a firm commitment for the parents to make it happen, but well worth the investment. Each of the members of the family can be involved by allowing them to read the passages or the devotion or answer questions after the reading is done. An Advent Wreath or Calendar can help add color, involvement of children, and tradition to your devotions, but they aren’t necessary.
ADVENT CALENDARS
Get an advent calendar for the children in the family. Typically they are brightly covered with a manger or other Christmas scene and have a little “window” for each day of December until Christmas. You can use this in conjunction with family devotions or as an individual thing for the children. You can buy them in German bookstores, but most have a secular scene and emphasis. You can buy Christian ones over the internet or in German or American Christian bookstores. HAVE A FAMILY ADVENT WREATH
Buy an Advent wreath. You can get them at German flower shops or department stores, or the town markets or Weihnachtsmarkts. Traditionally they are made of evergreen branches in the shape of a wreath that you use as a centerpiece for your table. There are places for four candles spaced equidistance around the wreath. One candle is lit on each of the four Sundays prior to Christmas. A fifth large candle is placed in the middle of the wreath. This is the Christ Candle that is lit on Christmas day. The meanings of the candles are listed below with an appropriate Bible passage to read. We do this at church as a body, but it is very meaningful and fun to do this at home with the devotional reading.
1st Candle: The Prophet’s Candle - Isaiah 9:2-6 2nd Candle: Bethlehem Candle - Matthew 2:4-6 3rd Candle: The Angels’ and Shepherds’ Candle - Luke 2:8-20 4th Candle: The Wise Men’s Candle - Matthew 2:1-12 5th Candle: The Christ Candle - Luke 2:1-7 LEARN SOME GERMAN CHRISTMAS SONGS/GO CAROLING
Some of our favorite Christmas hymns have Germanic origins. Silent Night is a good example. Learn some of these old favorites and some new ones and get with friends and family and carol in your neighborhood. HAVE SOMEONE OVER TO YOUR HOME FOR CHRISTMAS DINNER Invite a single person/soldier/airman or family of a deployed service member to have Christmas dinner at your house.
GO TO WEIHNACHTSMARKTS WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY
Get a group from your Sunday School or other Church friends to go to some of the many beautiful Christmas markets throughout Germany. Take the kids and spend the afternoon and evening shopping and eating and fellowshipping together.
READ THE CHRISTMAS STORY TOGETHER AS A FAMILY ON CHRISTMAS
Before you open presents on Christmas morning, take time to read the Christmas story as a family and then pray together.