On Monday we performed our Advent Spiral.
The Advent spiral began in the 1920s when a curative nurse brought it into a group home dedicated to the care of children with disabilities. She had been inspired by the custom from long ago in Bavaria, where farmers would bring moss and twigs into their homes and fashion a garden on a table, which was lit with candles in apples.
Evergreen boughs (a symbol of life everlasting) are placed in a spiral form on the floor with a large candle in its centre. The room is darkened and the mood is peaceful. The spiral begins; one at a time each person walks into the spiral with a lantern in which sits an unlit candle. Their candle is lit from the large candle in the centre. They place their lantern somewhere along the spirals path and join in with the singing.
The experience of the Advent spiral reflects the human experience at this time of the year; entering a time of darkness, of shorter days and longer nights and going forward with hope to welcome the light of the sun after the winter solstice.
