The first time a church member asked me that question I stuttered and stammered my way through a lackluster answer, and in the process mistook the third Sunday of Advent as the Day of Love rather than the Day of Joy. I finally concluded my rambling remarks by saying, “You know what? I don’t really know.”
I’ve been researching the answer ever since and I’ve learned two things: 1) I’m not the only one who goofs up an answer explaining the candles! 2) Everyone has a different explanation, which is just a gentle way of saying, “Nobody really knows.”
The Advent Wreath itself is a Germanic tradition that seems to be a pre-Christian one that early followers of Christ adopted and transformed for their own liturgical use. As such, the green of the wreath came to symbolize the eternal nature of God. The purple candles signify the royalty of Christ as well as our own penitence in preparing for the coming of Jesus. And the pink signifies joy…unless of course it signifies, love! It turns out, some churches light the pink candle on the third Sunday to symbolize joy, some light it on the fourth Sunday to symbolize love. Are you thoroughly confused yet? Well just wait!
There is a popular story about how the Pope used to give out a pink rose on the third Sunday of Lent as a reminder that Lent would eventually end. Somehow that tradition was transposed to Advent and we’ve had one pink candle ever since. I’m not sure I buy the story, but it leads us down the road to an answer…even if it is my least favorite answer to any question. “Why do we do it? Because we’ve always done it that way.”
FCC Scottsdale has the tradition of lighting a pink candle on the Third Sunday of Advent, which is this coming Sunday. We’ll celebrate it as the Day of Joy and we will rejoice at God’s promises that have been fulfilled and the blessings that are yet to come. It is going to be a great worship service and I look forward to seeing you there.
Oh, and in case things aren’t confusing enough, the current Pope has been using four red candles in his wreath for the past several years. When asked about his color choice he said simply, “I like red.” So there you go.
Yours in the journey, Rev. Brian
I'm trying to remember if we have a pink candle in our advent wreath. I think ours are purple and one lavender candle. Thanks for the background!
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