To help your family count down the weeks to Easter Sunday, consider using a Lenten candle wreath during family devotions each week. On Ash Wednesday, light all the candles. On each of the following Sundays, snuff out one candle, making sure they’re all extinguished by Good Friday, leaving darkness to commemorate Jesus’ death on the cross. Then on Easter morning, light all the candles on the wreath to symbolize Jesus’ victory over death through His resurrection.
These wreaths can be as simple or ornate as you’d like, and you can craft one with your family or purchase and assemble one at the links below.
Lenten Wreath tutorial
Step 1: Assemble your supplies.
- Grapevine wreath (found at most craft stores)
- Glass votive candles
- Purple table runner or placemat
- Wooden skewers
- Brown paint
- Black shoe polish (optional, to match color of wreath or to add texture)
Step 2: Paint 20 wooden skewers. (You might need two coats. Let dry in between.)
Step 3: Break off top third of skewers (you could pliers for a clean cut, but I didn’t bother. Make sure to include the pointy tips; these will be your “thorns”)
Step 4: Insert “thorns” into wreath (I tried to have some pointing in every direction)
Step 5: Place wreath on purple table runner (I opted for a placemat to avoid little hands pulling it off the table inadvertently)
Step 6: Place 7 glass votive candles all around the inside of the wreath (you could also arrange them in the shape of a cross, but I like how they look in a circular arrangement because I can place a flower pot inside when the candles are not lit)
Other Craft tutorials:
- Make a simple crown of thorns wreath (tutorial here) using a grapevine wreath
- Arrange votive candles in the shape of a cross on a sand platter (like this)
- Craft a Lenten wreath from branches in your backyard (like this one)
- Assemble a bowl of sand and stones with a pillar candle (example here)
Purchase options:
- Order this cross-shaped twig wreath (link here) and fill with glass votive candles (like these).
Buy this crown of thorns (link here) and place over a purple table runner (like this one), and carefully place 7 glass votive candles (like these) all around. On Easter Sunday, replace the crown of thorns with a flower wreath (like this one) and the purple table runner with a white one (like this one) to symbolize that the crown of death has now become a crown of life, as Jesus rose from the grave to victorious life.