For many, Christmas celebrations follow the four main themes of Advent: hope, peace, joy, and love. Subscribe to have The Washington Times’ Higher Ground delivered to your inbox every Sunday.

But some traditions give the candles an extra layer symbolism, each representing a theme: Hope, peace, joy and love. Our world is beset by brutal wars in Gaza and Ukraine.

The church calendar is not amiss on this important occasion. "Each week of Advent focuses on a different theme — hope, peace, joy, and love.

The birth of Jesus at Christmas is all about hope, peace, joy and love, writes Lauren Green of Fox News this holiday season — here's why this matters and the origin stories of each.

First Congregational Church in Westfield invites visitors to celebrate the holiday season on Dec. 10 at 10 a.m. with the annual Advent music service, "The Joy of Christmas," featuring familiar ...

Hope is most important in dark times. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of hope in his final Sunday sermon on March 31, 1968, days before his murder.

We wait in hope, peace, joy and love because of Christ’s promise. At the same time, we invite Christ to come or, maybe much more than this, we collect on his promise by saying, “Come now, we ...

Dec. 18—JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — The importance of Christ in people's lives, the coming of Jesus, the sight of God's face and the story of St. Joseph are some of the Christmas messages that will be ...

This year, Advent starts on Sunday, Dec. 3, and will encompass four weeks, with each week dedicated to a specific theme represented by the lighting of candles on an Advent wreath.

DEC. 1 this year began the anticipation of waiting for the arrival of our Savior Jesus Christ. The next week of Advent offers us peace as we await the birth of our Savior. The third week brings us joy ...