Why Advent Candles Are The Holiday Tradition You Should Start This Year

Why Advent Candles Are The Holiday Tradition You Should Start This Year

Burn a little bit each day as you reflect on the meaning of the season.

When you think of Advent calendars, you might be picturing the little cardboard doors that conceal festively shaped chocolates and treats. But chocolate (while one of the tastier ways to celebrate the season) wasn’t always used to celebrate the season of Advent. One of the oldest known Advent traditions is the use of Advent candles.

Because Advent candles have been used for thousands of years by many different cultures, they’re used in several different ways. Some families display the traditional Advent wreath that holds four candles (one for each of the four weeks of the month, representing hope, love, joy and peace), while other families light the same candle every night from December 1 to Christmas Eve. During this time, it’s customary for some families to pray together and celebrate the anticipation of the holiday.

If you’re looking for a new holiday tradition to start this Christmas, consider ordering an Advent candle and lighting it each night. You can use it as part of a religious celebration of the season, or simply use it as a way to spend more intentional time with your family. If you don’t already have one, we’ve rounded up a few of our favorite Advent candle designs to help you start the tradition.

Pillar Advent Candle

This 10-inch white pillar candle is hand-painted with intricate holly branches, gift packages, and red ribbons. The numbers 1-24 are listed in a row down the middle of the tree design, so you can easily see how far you should burn the candle each day. It has a total burn time of 6 hours, which means you'll have about 15 minutes to burn it for each of the 24 days.

Buy It: Advent Candle ($20, Newbridge Silverware)

Modern Advent Candle

This simple black and white candle will fit in with any modern or minimalistic holiday decorating scheme. You could even place a simple wreath around its base and use as part of your Farmhouse Christmas decor. This candle measures just over 11 inches tall and has a burn time of 90 hours—which translates to about three-and-a-half hours per day.

Buy It: Advent Candle ($22, Hygge Life)

Traditional Advent Candle

Put a traditional touch on your Christmas decor with this gorgeous taper candle. Decorated with a classic Christmas tree design, the candle measures almost 15 inches tall and should fit in any standard taper candle holder.

Buy It: Advent Candle ($10, Miles Kimball)

Classic Advent Candle

This taper candle features a different holiday image for each day of the Advent season, which is reminiscent of the differently shaped chocolates you'd find behind each cardboard door in a traditional Advent calendar. This one is 12 inches tall and is designed to fit any taper candle holder.

Buy It: Advent Candle ($15, The Vermont Country Store)

Two-Tone Advent Candles

This style of Advent candle is particularly popular in Denmark, where these candles are made. It ships for free to the U.S. in just one week—so there's still plenty of time to get in your order before December 1. The candles are 9 inches tall and are made in the traditional Danish style, with prints of Christmas trees, musical notes, and a numbered countdown decorating the sides. These multi-color Advent candles are perfect for households with a few kids, because you can order one for each child to light themselves.

Buy It: Advent Candles ($12, Etsy)