A devotion of the domestic church that has also found a place in parish churches. The wreath is blessed on the First Sunday of Advent or on the evening before; the United States bishops provide the blessing for use in the home, where it is fitting that a parent or another member of the family give it. Three candles are violet and one rose, the rose candle being lit on the Third Sunday, Gaudete Sunday. The Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy commends such Advent customs as helping families enter the season, provided they serve the liturgy of Advent rather than anticipate Christmas.

Make or buy a wreath of evergreen with four candles — three violet and one rose. On the First Sunday of Advent, or the evening before, gather the household, make the Sign of the Cross, read a short passage from Isaiah, and pray the blessing over the wreath; then light the first candle. Each evening afterwards, light the candles for the week at the family meal, with a Scripture verse and a short prayer, adding one candle each Sunday and the rose candle on the Third Sunday. Keep the wreath unlit and undecorated for Christmas itself: at Christmas the crib, not the wreath, takes the centre.

About 10 minutes

general