The advent wreaths and candle holders from Krista Design plus the story about the advent wreath!

Dear friends!

I would like to begin to wish you a happy and peaceful advent and remind you to please try to enjoy it! I also emphasize on the blog I did couple of days ago about the advent calendar right here, you can find loads of lovely ideas of how to spend this time with your partner, children, family and/or friends!

Today is the day to tell you a bit about the advent wreath and candle holders from Krista Design as well as the story about the origin of the wreath!

I have one of the leaf wreaths from Krista which I absolutely love and will light the first candle tonight!

It is, like so many products from Krista, made of aluminium, cut in a water jet cutter and finally powder coated in the locally based workshop. It is 33cm in diameter and it comes with silver powder coated aluminium candle holders. The wreath comes in a box where it can easily be stored year after year.

The wreath comes flat so the new owner can pull up the leaves to create its beautiful 3 dimension to taste. A classic and simple Christmas decoration that can easily be decorated and adjusted to each year’s colour theme. We recommend decorating with holly berries, ribbons or branches. After the holiday’s the candle holders can be easily detached and the wreath can hang in the window and essentially works as a decoration for the whole year around.

Please note: do not bend the leaves back and forth, stick to a position once it has been found, moving many times can reduce the hold of the aluminium and its strength can decrease and eventually fall off.

Size: 33 cm x 33 cm 

The reindeer candle holder is another version of a decorative piece that can be used for the advent or simply as a Christmas décor throughout the holidays! 

It comes with 4 candle glasses you can use for tea lights and the flare makes the cut-out forms mirror on the table around the holder.

It is also great for larger candles like you can see here:

This piece is only available in our stores for now.

1-2-3-4, this one is perfect for the advent! It is open in both ends so you can even thread spruce through it and let it sit proudly in the centre of the table!

It comes in a lovely package like every other piece from Krista but I note that the little glass holders are not included in the package whereas this holder is more meant for larger candles like so:

On one side you can see the numbers and on the other it has 4 little Christmas trees! (Perfect for the window sill!) 

The story about the advent wreath:

I did a little search about the story behind the wreath since origin and traditions is something that just fascinates me! I found a great article on the Icelandic science web and I will try to translate it here to the best of my abilities! 

The word "advent" comes from the Latin words Adventus Domini, meaning: "the arrival of the Lord" and it begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas! This time of the year was, and in many places it is still, called the Christmas fast. It is because in the early ages you weren't allowed to eat just anything, for example meat.

The advent wreath is based on a northern-European tradition. The "evergreen" stands for life in Christ and the "circle" symbolises the eternity. The first candle is called "The prophecy candle or candle of hope". The second one is called "The Bethlehem candle or the candle of preparation". The third one is called "The shepherd candle or the candle of joy" and the fourth and final candle is called "The angel candle or the candle of love".

The wreath which is considered to be based in Germany early 19th century, carried to South Jotland and became popular in Denmark after 1940. From Denmark this tradition came to Iceland and in the beginning it was mainly used to decorate store windows but in the years of 1960-1970 it got a common part of Icelandic homes and is now an essential part of this holiday time!

„Nå tenner vi det første lys“.

Over 40 years ago the Norwegian writer Sigurd Muri (1927-1999) wrote a poem about the four advent candles called: „Nå tenner vi det første lys“ and it is sang with a swedish song from 1898 by Emma Christina Köhler (1858-1925). Lilja Sólveig Kristjánsdóttir translated the poem to Icelandic and it is now one of the most known advent psalm in Iceland. (I'm sorry but I will not even endeavour translating this beautiful psalm!) 

Við kveikjum einu kerti á.
Hans koma nálgast fer
sem fyrstu jól í jötu lá
og Jesúbarnið er.

Við kveikjum tveimur kertum á
og komu bíðum hans,
því Drottinn sjálfur soninn þá
mun senda‘ í líking manns.

 

Við kveikjum þremur kertum á,
því konungs beðið er,
þótt Jesús sjálfur jötu og strá
á jólum kysi sér.

 

Við kveikjum fjórum kertum á.
Brátt kemur gesturinn,
og allar þjóðir þurfa að sjá,
að það er frelsarinn.

There is also a German story about the four advent candles. The writer is unknown but it is called "The four candles" and goes something like this:

All the candles had been lit and around them was some sort of silence. If someone had been close enough he would have heard the candles whisper to each other:

The first candle sighed and said: "I am the candle of peace. My light illuminates but the people don't live in peace with one another. They don't care about me!" The light on the first candle got smaller and smaller and finally it went out.

The second candle flickered and said: "my name is faith, but I am completely unnecessary. The people don't care about god and they don't want to recognize him. There is no point for me to be lit". The power in the candle called faith was over and a little gust turned the light off completely.

In a low, sad voice the third candle said: "My name is love, but I have no energy to let my light still shine. The people have pushed me to the side. They only take care of themselves and not the fellow who really needs affection". And with these words the third candle blew out.

A small child entered the room where the advent wreath stood and with tears in it's eyes it said: "I don't like it when you are not lit."

The fourth candle replied: "Don't be scared little child. When I am lit we can turn on the other candles. My name is Hope". The child got happy and it used the candle of hope to light the candle of love, the candle of faith and the candle of peace. Finally the child said to itself "Now the Christmas can come, for real."