I wrote this Advent lesson to help children enter the season in a curious and contemplative way. It is just one page out of the 68 page Little Way Advent guide, which can be purchased here. This lesson can be used at home, in Sunday School or Children’s Chapel, or in an inter-generational worship service, and is perfect for telling around the Advent wreath at the very start of the Advent season.

You will need:

A bag to hold all of the “clues”
A purple cloth
A manger (from a nativity set)
A star (an ornament, cut out shape, or tree topper works fine)
Greenery (garland, wreath, tree trimming—if artificial, omit line about it smelling good)
Wreath Ring
Advent candles

Symbols of Advent

It is the beginning of Advent, a new year in the church calendar. “A new year?” You might be thinking, “But it’s still December!” You see, the church tells time a bit differently than everyone else. The world marks time by days and weeks and months. But the church marks time by colors and symbols and seasons. And today is the beginning of a new season: Advent.

Advent is about waiting, watching, and getting ready for God to show up. This is full of mystery. And a mystery can be hard to understand.

The best way to solve a mystery is to look for clues. Advent has many clues. The church calls them symbols. And I have some of them here with me today. [Hold up bag.]

Purple: [Take out purple cloth delicately and lay it on table. Carefully smooth out wrinkles as you talk. This will be what you set the rest of the clues on.] Purple is the color of royalty. A long time ago, only kings and queens could wear the color purple. Roman Citizens could wear a little stripe, but that was all. Purple is a royal color. When God shows up, God shows up as a king.

Manger: Hmm. [Pull out manger, turning it over and examining it with curiosity.] What could this be? A horse trough? A manger? Ah, a cradle. [Set manger on top of purple cloth.] God shows up as a king [run hand over purple], but this cradle tells us he was a different kind of king. This king had no army, no great house, and no riches. This king was a baby who was born in a barn with a horse trough as a bed. His name is Jesus.

Star: Look, another clue. [Pull out star and examine it.] A star. This is the clue that led the magi to find the baby Jesus. [Raise star high above head.] It hung high in the sky above the stable and showed them the way to go. Sometimes we hang a star at the top of our Christmas tree just like it hung above the stable.

Evergreen: This clue smells wonderful. [Smell and pass around for children to smell.] It is so green. Alive when all the other trees outside have died. I wonder what this tells us about the mystery of Advent? Maybe that God’s love never dies. It is everlasting like this evergreen. This time of year, we bring evergreen in our house to remind us of this. We have Christmas trees, and garlands, and...wreaths [pulls out wreath ring].

Wreath Ring: Hmm...a circle. Circles go around and around. [Turns ring in complete circle as if steering the wheel of a car.] They have no end. You could trace a circle forever. [Lay wreath ring on table and begin to place greenery on it.] When we arrange the evergreen in a circle, it reminds us that God’s love never ends, that Jesus is a king who will reign forever. His kingdom will have no end.

Candles: One final clue. [Take candles out and put them inside wreath ring as you talk.] Sometimes we put candles in the middle of the circle. It tells us that Jesus is the light of the world. This time of year, it gets very dark and very cold. When Jesus arrives, he warms our hearts and brightens our way. The candles remind us that we don’t have to walk in darkness. Four candles make the advent wreath. One for each week of advent. [Point to each candle.]

During the next four weeks of Advent, we will watch. We will wait. We will get ready for God to show up. And when God shows up, he does it in a way no one expected: As a baby wrapped in swaddling cloth and laid in a manger, born to save us all.