降臨節花圈的概念起源於 16 世紀的德國路德教徒。然而，直到三個世紀後，現代的降臨節花圈才形成。
Johann Hinrich Wichern（1808 ~ 1881）是德國新教牧師，也是在窮人中工作的城市宣教先驅，是 19 世紀現代降臨節花圈的發明者。在基督降臨節期間，由 Wichern 在漢堡創立的 Rauhes Haus 教會學校的孩子們每天都會詢問聖誕節是否已經到來。1839 年，他用 20 支紅色小蠟燭和 4 支白色大蠟燭製作了一個大木環（由舊車輪製成）。在降臨節期間，每個工作日和星期六都會依序點燃一根小蠟燭，星期天會點燃一支白色的大蠟燭。這種習俗在德國的新教教堂中流行起來，並演變成今天帶有四、五支蠟燭的較小花圈。德國的羅馬天主教徒在 20 年代開始採用這一習俗，並在 1930 年代傳播到北美。
將臨期花圈呈圓形，代表上帝無限的愛，通常由常青樹葉製成，“代表耶穌基督帶來永生的盼望”。降臨節花圈內的蠟燭通常代表降臨節的四個星期以及 “上帝的光通過耶穌基督的誕生進入世界”。蠟燭具體像徵著希望（第一周）、和平的基督教概念 （第二週）、歡樂（第三週）和愛（第四周）。許多降臨節花圈的中央還有一根白色蠟燭，象徵著聖誕節的到來，有時也被稱為“基督蠟燭”。它在平安夜或聖誕節點亮，基督蠟燭是白色的，因為這是西方教會傳統的節日顏色。
另一種解釋，第一支蠟燭是彌賽亞或預言蠟燭（代表預言耶穌降臨的先知），第二支是伯利恆蠟燭（代表約瑟夫和瑪麗的旅程），第三支代表牧羊人和他們的歡樂， 第四個是天使的蠟燭，代表和平。
在許多天主教和新教教堂中，四根周圍的基督降臨節蠟燭最受歡迎的顏色是紫羅蘭色（或藍色）和玫瑰色，與基督降臨節禮儀祭衣的顏色相對應。對於西方基督教會的教派而言，紫羅蘭色是將臨期四個星期日中三個星期日的歷史禮儀顏色，因為它是懺悔季節的傳統顏色。藍色在歷史上也曾經被使用過，因為它代表希望，反映了圍繞耶穌第一次降臨和耶穌第二次降臨的降臨主題。玫瑰色是基督降臨節第三主日的禮儀顏色，代表著喜悅，通常與其他三種顏色不同。
J.H. Wichern 的原始將臨圈設計 - Original J.H. Wichern Advent Wreath
The concept of the Advent wreath originated among German Lutherans in the 16th century. However, it was not until three centuries later that the modern Advent wreath took shape.
Johann Hinrich Wichern (1808–1881), a Protestant pastor in Germany and a pioneer in urban mission worked among the poor, was the inventor of the modern Advent wreath in the 19th century. During Advent, children at the mission school Rauhes Haus, founded by Wichern in Hamburg, would ask daily if Christmas had arrived. In 1839, he built a large wooden ring (made out of an old cartwheel) with 20 small red and 4 large white candles. A small candle was lit successively every weekday and Saturday during Advent. On Sundays, a large white candle was lit. The custom gained ground among Protestant churches in Germany and evolved into the smaller wreath with four or five candles known today. Roman Catholics in Germany began to adopt the custom in the 1920s, and in the 1930s it spread to North America.
Advent wreaths are circular, representing God's infinite love, and are usually made of evergreen leaves, which "represent the hope of eternal life brought by Jesus Christ". Within the Advent wreath are candles that generally represent the four weeks of the Advent season as well as "the light of God coming into the world through the birth of Jesus Christ" The candles specifically symbolize the Christian concepts of hope (week one), peace (week two), joy (week three) and love (week four). Many Advent wreaths also have a white candle in the centre to symbolize the arrival of Christmastide, sometimes known as the "Christ candle." It is lit on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. The Christ candle is coloured white because this is the traditional festal colour in the Western Church.
Another interpretation states that the first candle is the Messiah or Prophecy candle (representing the prophets who predicted the coming of Jesus), the second is the Bethlehem candle (representing the journey of Joseph and Mary), the third represents the shepherds and their joy, and the fourth is the Angel's candle, representing peace.
In many Catholic and Protestant churches, the most popular colours for the four surrounding Advent candles are violet (or blue) and rose, corresponding with the colors of the liturgical vestments for the Sundays of Advent. For denominations of the Western Christian Church, violet is the historic liturgical color for three of the four Sundays of Advent as it is the traditional color of penitential seasons; blue has been historically used too, as it represents hopefulness, reflective of the theme of Advent surrounding the First Coming of Jesus and Second Coming of Jesus. Rose is the liturgical color for the Third Sunday of Advent representing joy, is often a different color from the other three.
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