Advent wreath

English

Noun

Advent wreath (plural Advent wreaths)

1. (Christianity) A usually evergreen wreath adorned with four (or sometimes five) candles, the first of which is lit on Advent Sunday, followed by the lighting of an additional candle on each subsequent Sunday.

   Synonym: Advent crown

   • 1929 December 28, “Correspondence: A Letter from Oberammergau. [To the Editor of the Spectator.]”, in The Spectator, volume 143, number 5296, page 972:

     Local custom gives us an “Advent Tree” or “Advent Wreath”: the trees are diminutive Christmas trees, which bear one candle for each Sunday in Advent; the wreaths are wooden rings with as many holes as there are days before Christmas Eve, decorated with fir green, and gay ribbons, and hung up over the dining-table, one candle being added every night till the circle is complete.

Related terms

• Advent calendar
• Advent candle

 

Translations

usually evergreen wreath adorned with four candles

• Dutch: adventskrans (nl) m
• French: couronne de l’Avent (fr) f
• German: Adventskranz (de) m
• Hungarian: adventi koszorú (hu)
• Italian: Corona dell'Avvento (it) f
• Polish: wieniec adwentowy (pl) m
• Portuguese: please add this translation if you can
• Spanish: please add this translation if you can
• Swedish: adventskrans (sv) c

Further reading

• “Advent wreath”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.