During this week we invite you to join us in beginning two of our favorite Christmas traditions: a family Advent wreath and "Journey to the Manger."
Family Advent Wreath
In advance, purchase a small evergreen wreath and nine candles--one white, one pink, three purple, and four red. For safety reasons, we recommend a plastic wreath rather than a live one. Place the wreath on a flat surface near where you will be using this guide for your daily family Advent devotions.
Arrange the purple and pink candles in the outer edge of the wreath. Place the white candle in the center. Light one of the purple candles before beginning the devotional for December 2. (If you failed to see this suggestion in time to prepare the wreath before December 2, prepare it as soon as possible and light the first candle for one of your devotional times during the week.)
Family members may take turns reading Scripture passages and reading devotions through the week, with different members reading Scripture and devotional content each time. Younger children will feel it a special privilege to light and extinguish the candles each Sunday.
Journey to the Manger
After your Advent devotion, place the stable from your Nativity set in the location you have selected to display your manger scene. Place around it only the livestock that may be among the figures in your set. Select four places in your home where the other figures can be placed. Make these progressively distant from the stable; and to make future suggestions more understandable, number them 1 through 4, with 4 being the most distant. Place Mary and Joseph at position 4 to begin their journey to the manger. Reserve the remaining figures for future weeks; further instructions will be given each week.
