THE SHEPHERD'S CANDLE🐑

 THE CANDLE OF JOY 

“Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:10-12)

In our candles of advent series, we’ve analyzed the symbolic importance of the five candles present on or inside the advent wreath, often featured in churches on Sunday. In past weeks, we’ve covered the history of the candles and wreath as well as the candle of peace and the candle of hope. 

For this week, we’ll cover the third candle known as the candle of joy. Instead of the previous two weeks of purple or violet candles, this week the color of the candle will be different: it’s pink. As a reminder, three candles are purple, one is pink, and the one in the center is white. 

Churches will light one candle a week, starting the first week of December, and will light the white candle in the center on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.

What Is the Candle of Joy?

Otherwise known as the Shepherd Candle, this candle reflects the joy that comes through Jesus’ arrival, and through the salvation he has gifted us. 

Christians may wonder why the church decided to make this particular candle a different color than the others. 

Although Christians have presented several reasons for the pinkish nature of the candle, from a tradition where priests would wear pink vestments to parents eagerly awaiting the joy of a child’s arrival by painting the room pink, the rosy candle has its roots in something known as Gaudete Sunday.

During this third week of advent, this Sunday celebrates the passage Philippians 4:4-5, its verses extolling readers to “rejoice” for “indeed the Lord is near.” 

In other words, this week celebrates the joy of Christ’s coming to earth. 

We should also note that not every church uses a pink candle to represent this day. Some will use a violet one, just like all the others. Violet tends to have a somber nature, and it also reflects royalty, acknowledging Jesus’ kingship.

No matter what color of candle a church displays on that third Sunday, churches want to highlight the importance of joy in advent season. During a time where depression is at an all-time high and people seem to be in the most despair, this candle offers a bright light during a dark time. 

It is also known as the Shepherd Candle to highlight the joy the shepherds experienced when they received the good news about Christ’s birth (Luke 2:8-20). During the middle of the night, the darkest time, the shepherds encountered angels.

Let's watch a video to understand it better!

Comment down below if you know which will be our fourth candle of advent!