A friend's six-year-old once stood next to her family's Advent wreath and asked, with a very serious face, "Why do we light a candle if the baby isn't here yet?" Her mom laughed. I didn't have a tidy answer.
But she'd put her finger on the whole point, hadn't she? Advent is the season of lighting candles before the baby is here. It's practicing hope in the dark. It's saying, week by week, "He's coming," while the manger is still empty.
If you'd like to walk through that with your family this year, this post gives you everything: what Advent is, what the candles mean, and a simple week-by-week plan of Advent Bible verses you can read in about five minutes a night. There's a full table near the end you can screenshot and stick on the fridge.
Advent begins on Sunday, November 29, 2026. So you've got time to find a wreath, or just four candles in sturdy holders (that works too, I promise). Battery candles are a great choice with little ones around.
Want a copy for your table or fridge? Get the free Advent Reading Plan. It is a four-page printable with short readings for your family.
In this post
What is Advent, in plain words?
Advent comes from the Latin word adventus, which means "coming" or "arrival." It's the four Sundays and the weeks between them leading up to Christmas.
For a long time, Christians have used these weeks to do two things at once. We remember the long wait God's people went through before Jesus was born, all those centuries of prophets pointing forward. And we admit we're waiting too, because Jesus promised He'd come again.
So Advent isn't just a countdown to presents. It's a countdown to a Person. That's the difference that makes it worth doing on purpose.
What the Advent candles mean
Most Advent wreaths hold four candles in a circle of evergreen, with many families adding a fifth candle in the middle. You light one more candle each Sunday, so the light grows as Christmas gets closer.
Many churches give the four candles these themes, and they're the ones this plan uses:
- Week 1: Hope. Sometimes called the prophecy candle.
- Week 2: Peace. Sometimes called the Bethlehem candle.
- Week 3: Joy. Often the pink or rose candle, sometimes called the shepherds' candle.
- Week 4: Love. Sometimes called the angels' candle.
- Christmas Eve or Day: the Christ candle. The white one in the center, lit when the waiting is over.
Here's the honest note: traditions differ. Some churches order the themes differently, some use different names, and the colors vary from purple to blue to red. If your church does it another way, do it their way. There's no wrong wreath. The point is the light, and Who it points to.
How to use this Advent reading plan
Keep it small. Seriously. These Advent Bible verses are short on purpose. A short plan is a lot easier to keep than an ambitious one. Pick something small enough to survive a Tuesday.
Here's the rhythm:
- On Sunday, light that week's candle and read the Sunday verse out loud. Ask the question for the week.
- Monday through Thursday, read one short passage at dinner or bedtime. Light the candles again if you like.
- Friday and Saturday are grace days. Catch up on a missed reading, or just rest.
Miss a night? Skip that Advent Bible verse and keep going. Advent is about waiting well, not about a perfect streak.
Week 1: Hope (starts Sunday, November 29)
Advent starts in the dark, and that's on purpose. Before anyone sings about a baby, the prophets speak to people who've been waiting a very long time.
“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.”
Isaiah 9:2
Isaiah wrote that hundreds of years before Bethlehem. Think about that. Generations of people read those words and didn't see the light arrive. They hoped anyway.
Weekday readings: Isaiah 7:14 (the sign of a son called Immanuel), Micah 5:2 (a ruler from little Bethlehem), Jeremiah 33:14-15 (God keeps His promise), and Romans 15:13 (a prayer for joy and peace as you trust Him).
Ask at the table: "What's something you're waiting for right now? How does it feel to wait?"
Week 2: Peace (starts Sunday, December 6)
The second candle goes on, and the promise gets a name. Actually, four names.
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
Isaiah 9:6
December is loud. Concerts, parties, the shipping deadline, the relative who needs a gift you haven't found. This is the week to notice that the peace Advent promises isn't the absence of noise. It's a Person who holds the whole world on His shoulders, so you don't have to. (If you want more on that, I wrote about it in Bible verses about peace.)
Weekday readings: Luke 1:78-79 (a light to guide our feet into the path of peace), Isaiah 26:3 (perfect peace for those who trust Him), John 14:27 (peace I leave with you), and Luke 2:14 (the angels praise God: peace on earth).
Ask at the table: "What makes you feel worried or rushed? What would it look like to hand that to Jesus this week?"
Week 3: Joy (starts Sunday, December 13)
This is the week the pink candle usually gets lit, and it feels different on purpose. The waiting is almost over. The tone lifts.
“But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord.'”
Luke 2:10-11
Notice who got the announcement. Not kings. Shepherds, out in the fields on the night shift, keeping watch over their sheep. Great joy for all the people was announced in a field, not a palace. Kids love that detail, by the way.
Weekday readings: Luke 1:46-49 (Mary's song), Zephaniah 3:17 (God rejoices over you with singing), Psalm 16:11 (fullness of joy in His presence), and Nehemiah 8:10 (the joy of the Lord is your strength).
Ask at the table: "If an angel told you the best news in the world, who's the first person you'd run to tell?"
Week 4: Love (starts Sunday, December 20)
The last candle. All four candles are burning now, and Christmas is just days away. This week asks the biggest question of all: why would God do this?
“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
John 3:16
It's probably the most familiar verse in the Bible, which is exactly why it's worth slowing down on. Read it once, just as it's written. Then tell your child, "The world includes you. God loves you like that." Watch their face.
This week is shorter, because Thursday is Christmas Eve.
Weekday readings: 1 John 4:9-10 (this is love), Romans 5:8 (while we were still sinners), and Matthew 1:21-23 (His name is Jesus, and Immanuel means God with us).
Ask at the table: "How do you know someone loves you? How has God shown you that He does?"
Christmas Eve: light the Christ candle
On Thursday, December 24, light all four candles, then the white one in the middle. Read Luke 2:1-20 all the way through. It takes about three minutes. Let a different person read each part if you've got enough readers: the census, the manger, the shepherds, the angels, and Mary treasuring it all in her heart.
And then just sit in the candlelight for a minute before anyone reaches for a present. You've waited all Advent for this. Let it land.
All the Advent Bible verses at a glance
Here's every reading in one place. Screenshot it, print it, or tape it inside a kitchen cabinet.
| Week | Sunday (light a candle) | Monday to Thursday |
|---|---|---|
|
Hope Nov 29 |
Isaiah 9:2 | Isaiah 7:14, Micah 5:2, Jeremiah 33:14-15, Romans 15:13 |
|
Peace Dec 6 |
Isaiah 9:6 | Luke 1:78-79, Isaiah 26:3, John 14:27, Luke 2:14 |
|
Joy Dec 13 |
Luke 2:10-11 | Luke 1:46-49, Zephaniah 3:17, Psalm 16:11, Nehemiah 8:10 |
|
Love Dec 20 |
John 3:16 | 1 John 4:9-10, Romans 5:8, Matthew 1:21-23 (Mon to Wed) |
|
Christ candle Thu Dec 24 |
Luke 2:1-20, the whole Christmas story |
The name Advent is waiting for
If you only remember one word from this whole season, make it this one. When Matthew tells the Christmas story, he reaches back to Isaiah's promise and gives it a name:
“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel (which means "God with us").”
Matthew 1:23 (NIV)
Immanuel, or Emmanuel, the spelling you'll hear in carols. God with us. Not watching from far away. Here, in a feed trough in Bethlehem, in the middle of our mess.
That's why I love wearing it in December. It's a one-word sermon, and it goes wherever you go: the school pickup line, the grocery store, the fourth holiday party of the week.
You can see all of our Christian Christmas shirts in one place, and if you're shopping for someone else this year, my Christian Christmas gifts for her guide might save you an afternoon.
You don't have to do Advent perfectly
Some years the wreath will be beautiful. Some years it'll be four mismatched candles from the back of the cupboard, or battery ones because the toddler is at the grabbing stage. It counts. It all counts. (Just never leave real candles burning when you walk away.)
What matters is that, week by week, your family says the same thing the prophets said, and the shepherds, and Mary: He's coming. He came. He's coming again.
And maybe someday a little one at your table will ask why you're lighting a candle when the baby isn't here yet. Now you'll have an answer. Because we're people who hope in the dark, and we've never once been wrong to.
If you would like the readings close at hand, Get the free Advent Reading Plan and print it before November 29. A few quiet minutes together is a lovely place to start.
With love,
Anna
P.S. If you want a reminder that lasts all season, the Emmanuel tee says the whole point of Advent in one word. And if you're buying two, US shipping is free.
Scripture quotations in this post are from The Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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