Advent Wreath Coloring Page: Free Printable PDF

Counting Down the Weeks Before Christmas

A German Tradition That Spread Worldwide

The modern Advent wreath traces back to nineteenth-century Germany, credited to Johann Hinrich Wichern, a pastor who used a wooden ring with candles to help children in his care count down the days to Christmas. What began as a teaching tool in a Hamburg mission house eventually spread across Lutheran and later Catholic congregations throughout Europe and North America.

Why the Ring Never Ends

Choosing a circular wreath rather than a straight row of candles was deliberate: a ring has no beginning or end, a shape long used in art and design to represent eternity. Evergreen pine was the natural material of choice for the base since it stays green through the coldest months, adding a second layer of meaning about enduring life during the darkest part of the year.

Candles Lit One Week at a Time

A traditional Advent wreath is lit gradually, with one additional candle added each Sunday across the four weeks leading to Christmas, building toward a fully lit ring by Christmas Eve. The shorter center candle shown in this scene is often reserved for Christmas Day itself, sometimes called the Christ candle, marking the moment the countdown finally ends.

Pinecones and Berries as Winter Symbols

Tucking pinecones and berry clusters into the pine branches is a decorating custom that predates the Advent wreath itself, borrowed from older midwinter greenery traditions that used whatever a forest offered during the coldest season. Both add texture without taking away from the wreath's circular shape, keeping the focus on the ring and its candles rather than elaborate ornamentation.

Color Choices for the Four Outer Candles

Many congregations follow a set color scheme for the four outer candles, typically three purple and one pink, matching the liturgical colors used elsewhere in the Advent season. The pink candle is usually lit on the third Sunday, a day sometimes called a small turning point in the season where the mood shifts from somber waiting toward anticipation of the coming celebration.

From Home Craft to Church Sanctuary

What started as a homemade classroom tool in Wichern's mission house eventually scaled up into a fixture at the front of church sanctuaries, often built much larger than a tabletop version and suspended or displayed near the altar for the whole congregation to see during weekly services. Families later adapted the same design back down to a smaller tabletop size for home use, letting the tradition move between church and living room each Advent season.

A Weekly Reading Alongside Each Candle

Many families and congregations pair each week's candle lighting with a short scripture reading or prayer specific to that week's theme, often built around themes like hope, peace, joy, and love across the four Sundays. That weekly rhythm turns the wreath into more than decoration, giving households and classrooms a small built-in ritual to mark the passage of time as December moves toward Christmas Day. Many families keep the same wreath and repeat the same readings year after year, turning it into a small holiday heirloom that gets pulled out of storage the same weekend every late November, sometimes passed down from a parent's own childhood wreath and refreshed with a fresh set of candles each season, keeping the same simple ring of pine at the center of the household's countdown for decades running.