Three purple candles (1st, 2nd, and 4th sundays) and one pink candle. Purple represents waiting, and pink represents joy.
The first purple candle means: waitingThe second purple candle means: hopeThe third purple candle means: joyThe pink candle means: peace.Catholic AnswerThe candles, and the Advent wreath itself, are NOT part of the liturgy officially, and are a common folk custom from northern Europe. The four candles were put on the wreath to signify the four Sundays of Advent. Three violet candles and one rose candle - for the color of the four Advent Sundays (purple and pink are NOT liturgical colors in the Catholic Church). The candles themselves have no meaning outside of what some have given them, they are not officially part of the church's liturgy and thus have no official meaning. Some people put a white candle in the middle to stand for Christmas, but this is wildly inappropriate as, thought not official, it is an ADVENT wreath, and Advent ends on the afternoon of Christmas eve.
There are typically four candles on the outside of an advent wreath, with an additional candle in the center that is lit on Christmas Day.
Actually, there are three violet candles on an Advent wreath, not purple. The violet candles stand for the violet called for in the liturgy for those Sundays, the third Sunday of Advent calls for Rose vestments, so the candle for that week is rose.
There are four Advent candles, three are purple and one is pink. The order of lighting the candles is Purple, Purple, Pink. Purple.The third Sunday of Advent is Gaudete Sunday from the Latin word "rejoice." Gaudete Sunday anticipates the joy of the Christmas celebration, so its color is a mixture of Advent purple and Christmas white
There are no candles specifically for lent. I believe you are instead thinking of advent and the advent wreath, in which case each candle represents a different theme for each week.
The first of the four candles - usually, sometimes there's a fifth "Christ candle" - is lit on the first Sunday of advent which can fall on any day between 27th November and 3ird December. On the next Sunday of advent the second candle is lit in addition to the first; so there would be two candles lit on the second Sunday.By the third Sunday the third candle is lit, with of course, the other two candles of the past couple of weeks. The third Sunday of advent is often quite soon before Christmas day itself, when the fourth and last candle is finally lit, amongst the rest.
The green advent candle represents the shepherds. Usually, two types of advent wreaths are done. One is with the three purple candles and one pink candle with a white candle in the center. The other one has one gold, white, green, and red or purple candle. The gold represents prophecy. The white represents angles. The green represents shepherds and the red represents the wise men. There's a white candle in the center which represents Jesus.
"Some systems name the candle as follows: Candle 1. Hope (purple) Candle 2. Peace (purple) Candle 3. Joy (rose; the corresponding Sunday is "Gaudete Sunday") Candle 4. Love (purple) Candle 5. Christ (white)"
The traditional advent wreath has four candles, one for each Sunday in Advent, three purple and one pink. Some more modern traditions (commonly Lutherans) use advent wreaths with four blue candles. If they are all the same color, it doesn't matter what order you light them in, so I presume you are asking about the tradional pink/purple candles. The candle opposite the pink candle is lit first, on the first Sunday of Advent (or the vigil service on the Saturday night before). There's no real rule about going clockwise or counter clockwise, as far as I know, but the second Sunday means lighting the first candle as well as a second purple one. On the third Sunday the pink candle is lit along with the previous two purple ones. On the fourth Sunday all four candles are lit. Many congregations and families also use a white candle in the center to represent Christ; this is lit on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
-15 Facts about Advent1. The wreath is an important symbol that advent is close and it is time to wait for Jesus' birth. The wreath is a circle to represent trinity. Which means, no beginning and no end.2. Advent is the church's new year's day.3. The word advent comes from the Latin word adventus, which means arrival or coming.4. Priests usually were purple or royal blue during advent. Catholic priests were purple on the first, second and fourth week. Then, on during the third week they wear rose.5. There are three purple candles and one rose candle. But, there is an optional white candle for Christmas day.6. The first candle is purple, it is the candle of hope. So, on this day all prayers are focused on hope. This candle represents the Patriarchs like, Abraham, David, and other followers of God.7. The second candle is also purple and it stands for God's peace.8. The fourth candle stands for joy. When people see this candle they think about Mary the mother of Jesus. They think about how the angel Gabriel came to her and told her that she would have a son, and he would be the son of God.9. The third candle is the candle of love. It is the color rose. It stands for John the Baptist, and how he baptized Jesus.10. Advent starts on November 30th and ends on December 25.11. Advent is a season of hope and it is also preparation for celebration of the birth of Jesus.12. Orthodox also calls advent Nativity Fast.13. Advent was established in the sixth century by Pope Gregory.
The Advent Wreath The Advent wreath is a circular garland of evergreen branches representing eternity. On that wreath, five candles are typically arranged. During the season of Advent one candle on the wreath is lit each Sunday as a part of the Advent services. Each candle represents an aspect of the spiritual preparation for the coming of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Candles Set on the branches of the wreath are four candles: three purple candles and one pink candle. In the center of the wreath sits a white candle. As a whole, these candles represent the coming of the light of Christ into the world. On the first Sunday of Advent, the first purple candle is lit. This candle is typically called the prophecy candle in remembrance of the prophets, primarily Isaiah, who foretold the birth of Christ. This candle represents hope or expectation in anticipation of the coming Messiah. Each week on Sunday, an additional candle is lit. On the second Sunday of Advent, the second purple candle is lit. This candle typically represents love. Some traditions call this the Bethlehem candle, symbolizing Christ's manger. On the third Sunday of Advent the pink, or rose-colored candle is lit. This pink candle is customarily called the Shepherds' candle and it represents joy. The fourth and last purple candle, oftentimes called the Angel's candle, represents peace and is lit on the fourth Sunday of Advent. On Christmas Eve, the white center candle is traditionally lit. This candle is called the Christ candle and represents the life of Christ that has come into the world. The color of white represents purity. Christ is the sinless, spotless, pure Savior. Also, those who receive Christ as Savior are washed of their sins and made whiter than snow. Celebrating with an Advent wreath during the weeks prior to Christmas is a great way for Christian families to keep Christ at the center of Christmas, and for parents to teach their children the true meaning of Christmas. Another Advent tradition that can be very meaningful and fun for children is to celebrate with the Jesse Tree. From: About.com http://christianity.about.com/od/christmas/qt/adventwreath.htm