Advent
Begins: Sunday November 30, 2014
Advent Ends: Wednesday December 24, 2014
Advent
Wreath: One of the ways GCPC will celebrate Advent this year
is with an Advent wreath. There are
candles lit during the 4 Sundays leading up to Christmas. The first is the prophecy
candle or the candle of hope; the second is the Bethlehem candle or
candle of preparation; the third is the Shepherd candle or the candle of
joy, the fourth is the love candle or the candle of peace; and the
center white candle is the Christ candle, lit on Christmas Eve or
Christmas Day symbolizing the birth of Jesus. See additional handout included further explaining
each candle during Advent Season.
Suggested Resource to supplement the Advent Wreath
(Available for $7 on the Resource Table):
Items needed
to make one wreath using battery-operated candles:
•
1
piece purple felt
•
1
piece pink felt
•
Artificial
wreath (inexpensive at Michaels)
•
Battery
operated candles
(You only need 5 candles for the wreath
and they are sold in
packs of 12 at Michaels)
•
Double
sided tape - to adhere felt to candles
•
Red
pom poms to add to wreath for decoration
•
Raffia
– for decoration
Jesse Tree: In
addition to the Advent wreath another way to prepare for Christmas is using the
Jesse Tree devotional. The Jesse Tree
will encourage us as we look through scriptures from Old Testament creation
through Jesus’ birth. The tree is named
Jesse (King David’s father) a key figure in the genealogy of Jesus.
Suggested Resources (Available
for $12 on the Resource Table)
Advent Chain
1. Preparing. Use
construction paper (red, green, and white) and cut into strips. You will need 25 pieces of paper to make one chain. You will also
need a glue stick, pair of scissors, and markers/pencils.
2. Adding days. Start to
number the days, beginning with November 30 and ending on December 24, on the
strips of paper. Flip the pieces of paper over and write something on the back.
Bible verses are a good way to help your children understand Christmas! You
could also write down a fun activity to be done on that day such as decorating
the Christmas tree, making the Christmas cake, or writing Christmas messages to
friends.
3. Making the
chain. Take your first strip (November 30) and glue the
ends together to form a ring. Make sure the date is on the outside of the ring.
Take your second piece labeled December 1 and run it through your ring and glue
the ends together. Continue doing this
with the remaining strips.
4. Finding a good location. After
your Advent paper chain has been completed, hang it up on a Christmas tree or especial place. Every day have your child rip one ring off, starting
on December 1, and read the back and do whatever activity was planned.
