Advent: Hope, Peace, Joy, Love

Nov. 30-Dec. 24, 2025

Rev. Johann Hinrich Wichern is credited as the inventor of the modern Advent wreath. Wichern was a German Lutheran pastor and a pioneer in urban mission work among the poor. During Advent, children at his mission school would ask daily if Christmas had arrived. In 1839, he took a large wooden ring from an old cartwheel and decorated it with evergreen branches and 24 small red candles and four large white candles. The small candles were lit each weekday, and the white candles were lit each Sunday. Other Protestant churches and then Roman Catholic churches adopted the practice. German Lutheran immigrants brought it to the United States in the 1920s. Each Sunday as we light each candle of Advent, Rev. Dr. Rodger Nishioka will preach on what the candle symbolizes: hope, peace, joy, and love.