As we journey through our Advent season, how about we talk about some of our beloved church Christmas traditions.

This past Sunday we decked the halls of St. Johns in our annual Hanging of the Greens event. Hanging of the Greens, as many traditions, did not start out as a Christian one.  As the weather would get colder, greens would be brought in both for preserving plants and for decorations. Evergreens were perfect for decorating, because they stayed green all year long. Overtime, churches started using this as a time to kick off the advent season.

There are many ways to observe the Hanging of the Greens and many types of decorations you might see. Some churches do a fully separate service. Many do exactly as we did, as a post church-time activity with a soup supper.

What are some of the significant meanings of the things now adorning our church? Here’s just a few explanations. 

You’ll see a lot of greenery. Christmas trees and evergreen branches are used because green signifies everlasting life.

We also use wreathes of many sizes and colors. The circle of the wreath represents eternity. It has no beginning and no end. And the green, well you know, see the last explanation.

You will see one of two different colors representing Advent on the altar and in the paraments on the pulpit. Purple is the most common color, but you might also see blue. Blue is a sign of the hope we have in Jesus Christ.

The advent wreath stands proud at the front of the sanctuary, waiting to be lit. It has 4 candles. Each candle represents a different theme for each week. The themes traditionally are Hope, Love, Joy, and Peace. 3 of the candles are blue and one is pink. The pink one is lit on the 3rd Sunday of Advent. This Sunday may be referred to as Gaudete Sunday. The pink candle is meant to move us from the repentance of the first 2 weeks of Advent to the coming celebration of the birth of Jesus.

There is one other important tradition observed during the Hanging of the Greens and that’s the Hanging of the Crismons. But that deserves its own explanation so don’t miss next week’s devotion.

Advent is upon us friends! Get ready for our next stop on our journey towards the coming of the  “Light of the World”. It’s going to be pregnant with potential!