The time between Thanksgiving dinner and Christmas morning can feel like a blur, filled with gatherings, shopping, decorating, and wrapping. Yet the Catholic liturgical calendar observes a four week liturgical season right in between the fall and winter holidays. Don’t miss Advent 2025! Here are three Advent practices to try at home, traditions that will help you and your family to wait well for Christmas.

Join Fr. Mike Schmitz for Waiting Well Advent Reflections in the Ascension App

1. Light an Advent Wreath

A new set of candles appears in our parishes on the first Sunday of Advent: the Advent wreath. This centuries-old tradition of having four candles, three purple and one rose, on an evergreen wreath, helps us mark the passing of time through the four weeks of Advent until Christmas. Each Sunday in Advent, Father lights one more candle until all four of them are lit on the Sunday before Christmas. The three purple candles are for the first, second, and fourth Sundays of Advent, while the rose candle is lit on the third Sunday. The green, circular evergreen wreath represents eternal life. 

Did you know? Each candle on the Advent wreath has a name. The first one is the “Prophet’s Candle,” or “Candle of Hope.” The second is the “Bethlehem Candle,” or “Candle of Peace”. The rose colored candle for the third Sunday is called the “Shepherd’s Candle,” or “Joy Candle.” Finally, the last purple candle for the fourth Sunday is the “Angel’s Candle” or “Candle of Love.” 

The significance of each candle reminds us of the reason for the Advent season. The titles Prophet, Bethlehem, Shepherds, and Angels call to mind important aspects of Jesus’s Nativity, various pieces of the Bethlehem story. Meanwhile, the graces of hope, peace, joy, and love are themes of the Advent season. Sometimes, a white candle, the "Christ candle," is placed in the center of the wreath and lit on Christmas Eve. The Advent wreath reminds us that we are preparing to celebrate Jesus, the Light of the World, at Christmas.

2. Listen to Advent Music

Music is a major part of the holidays, and in December, we’re usually pretty steeped in Christmas tunes: nearly every store has been “rockin’ around the Christmas tree” since the beginning of November. Advent music is a bit harder to find, but there are some selections hiding in your parish’s hymnal and on Christian radio! To remain in a spirit of hopeful waiting as Christmas approaches, press play on some of the following melodies…

• “Waiting Well” is the theme song commissioned by Fr. Mike Schmitz and beautifully composed by Aly Aleigha for Ascension’s 2025 Advent series. You can also hear a second version of the song feat. Fr. Mike Schmitz!
• If you enjoyed “Waiting Well,” check out Aly’s theme song from Ascension’s 2024 Advent series, “Face to Face.”
• Enjoy the calming and contemplative voices of the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles in “Advent at Ephesus.”
• Traditional Advent hymns will make your home a prayerful place in preparation for Christmas. Beyond the timeless, recognizable loveliness of “O Come O Come Emmanuel,” other magnificent selections include “Let All Mortal Flesh,” “Creator of the Stars of Night,” “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus,” and “O Come Divine Messiah.”
• Even classical music offers something for Advent. The Hallelujah chorus from Handel’s Messiah is a triumphant classical masterpiece often played at Christmas and Easter, but did you know that part of Handel’s entire work also highlights the prophecies of Christ’s coming and the Birth of Jesus? Yes, check out these selections from the Oratorio: “And the Glory of the Lord,” “He Shall Feed His Flock,” “Rejoice Greatly, O Daughter of Zion,” and “For Unto us a Child is Born.”

3. Follow the Jesse Tree

The Jesse Tree is a journey through Salvation History with symbols and Scripture readings for December 1st-24th. It moves through God’s covenants with Adam, Noah, Abraham, David, and the messages of the prophets, introducing us to key figures of the Old Testament and Christ’s lineage. The final days lead us right up to the birth of Jesus with the persons closest to him: Zechariah, Elizabeth, John the Baptist, Mary, and Joseph.  

The name of the Jesse Tree comes from the words of Isaiah 11:1: “A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.” The Jesse tree shows that Jesus fulfills the Messianic prophecies and traces his lineage. As a direct descendant of King David, whose father was Jesse, Christ is the true David king promised by God.

For each day of the Jesse Tree, there is a symbol that accompanies the Scripture passage for that day: for example an ark for Noah, a ladder for Jacob, sheaves of wheat for Ruth, a carpenter’s saw for St. Joseph. Images of these symbols can go on ornaments to decorate a tree, which makes the Jesse Tree an excellent Advent activity for children, teaching them about the biblical events as they make ornaments for each day. Holy Heroes offers some great ideas for how to create a Jesse Tree in your home, including a free download of the ornaments.

Join Fr. Mike Schmitz for Waiting Well Advent Reflections in the Ascension App