When does Advent start in 2026?

Advent 2026 begins on Sunday, November 29, 2026, and the four Sundays fall on November 29, 2026, December 6, 2026, December 13, 2026, December 20, 2026. Advent always begins on the Sunday nearest 30 November, which is why the date moves and why the fourth week is sometimes only a day long.

What do the four candles of Advent represent?

The Prophet’s Candle — The long wait. The prophets spoke of a coming they did not live to see, and the first week is about hoping for something on someone else’s word. The Bethlehem Candle — The journey and the town. A census, a road, no room — the ordinary machinery of the world carrying the thing it did not know it was carrying. The Shepherd’s Candle — Gaudete Sunday. Halfway through a penitential season the Church lightens the colour and says rejoice — not because the waiting is over, but because it is nearly. The Angel’s Candle — The last week, and the shortest — sometimes only a day. The announcement has been made and there is nothing left to do but be ready.

When do you light the Christ candle?

A fifth white candle stands in the centre of the wreath and is lit on Christmas Day, not during Advent. Many wreaths have four candles and no centre; both are correct, and the fifth is a custom rather than a rule. If your wreath has five, the middle one waits.

Do you have to say a prayer when lighting the candles?

No. There is no required form, no blessing you must have, and no rule about who lights them. A prayer for each week is given below because most people want one, but lighting the candle and reading the Sunday Gospel is a complete practice on its own.

The Advent Wreath

Four candles, one lit each Sunday, three violet and the third rose. In 2026 the Sundays fall on November 29, 2026, December 6, 2026, December 13, 2026, December 20, 2026. Below is which candle is which, why one of them is a different colour, and a prayer for each week.

Which candle, and when

One more each Sunday, so the light in the room grows as the season goes on. That is the whole idea and it is why the wreath works on children without anyone explaining it.

Lit in order, one more each Sunday. The third is rose because the third Sunday is Gaudete. The white candle in the middle waits for Christmas Day.

The four candles

1. The Prophet’s Candle

Violet · HopeNovember 29, 2026

The long wait. The prophets spoke of a coming they did not live to see, and the first week is about hoping for something on someone else’s word.

Lord, we light this candle for the ones who waited and did not see it. Teach us to want what you have promised more than we want it soon. Come, Lord Jesus.

2. The Bethlehem Candle

Violet · PeaceDecember 6, 2026

The journey and the town. A census, a road, no room — the ordinary machinery of the world carrying the thing it did not know it was carrying.

Lord, we light this candle for a town that had no room. Make room in us for what we did not plan on. Come, Lord Jesus.

3. The Shepherd’s Candle

Rose · JoyDecember 13, 2026

Gaudete Sunday. Halfway through a penitential season the Church lightens the colour and says rejoice — not because the waiting is over, but because it is nearly.

Lord, we light this candle for shepherds who were told first. Give us the sense to be glad before everything is finished. Come, Lord Jesus.

4. The Angel’s Candle

Violet · LoveDecember 20, 2026

The last week, and the shortest — sometimes only a day. The announcement has been made and there is nothing left to do but be ready.

Lord, we light this candle for a message no one expected to receive. Find us awake. Come, Lord Jesus.

Why one candle is rose

Because the third Sunday is Gaudete Sunday, and rose is what violet becomes when it is lightened. Advent is a penitential season kept in violet, and on the Sunday nearest its midpoint the Church eases the colour for one day — the entrance antiphon that gives the day its name is Gaudete in Domino semper, "Rejoice in the Lord always". Lent does the same thing on its fourth Sunday, Laetare, for the same reason. So the rose candle is not a different idea dropped into the set; it is the same violet, relieved. That is also why it is rose and not pink: the vestment colour has a name, and it is the lightening of a penitential colour rather than a colour of its own.

Four candles or five?

Four is the wreath; the fifth is optional. The four candles round the ring are the four Sundays of Advent, and every wreath has them. A fifth white candle in the centre — the Christ candle — is lit on Christmas Day itself, after Advent has ended, and is a widespread custom rather than a requirement. A wreath with four candles is complete. A wreath with five is not doing anything wrong.

Why a circle, and why evergreen

The circle has no beginning and no end, which is the plainest thing a shape can say about God. The evergreen keeps its colour through the death of the year, which is the plainest thing a plant can say about life that does not stop. Neither symbol is subtle and neither is doctrine — the wreath is a domestic custom, German in its present form and only about two centuries old, that the Church took up because it teaches children something true in a way that requires no explanation.

Print it for the table

This page prints as a plain sheet, diagram included, so it can sit beside the wreath for the four weeks rather than being looked up on a phone each Sunday. Parishes and schools are welcome to print it.

For the season it belongs to, see Advent; for the dates of everything else that moves, the liturgical calendar.

More free tools

All free, no sign-up, and nothing to keep updated — the dates are computed rather than typed. See all 13 tools.

Frequently Asked Questions

Week 1: The Prophet’s Candle (violet), for hope. Week 2: The Bethlehem Candle (violet), for peace. Week 3: The Shepherd’s Candle (rose), for joy. Week 4: The Angel’s Candle (violet), for love. One more is lit each Sunday, so by the fourth Sunday all four are burning. Which candle you start with does not matter as long as the rose one is third; wreaths are not marked and nobody will correct you.