One way to observe lent at home is through the Lenten Candles. There are several different ways you can set up your own candles. There are six candles, one for each week of lent. This functions like a reverse Advent wreath. At the start of Lent, you light all six candles. Then each successive Sunday, you blow out one additional candle until finally, on Maundy Thursday, you extinguish the last candle. As the darkness deepens each week, we are reminded of Christ’s journey to Golgotha. 

Set up your candles on Ash Wednesday to begin lighting them the first Sunday of Lent. Start by deciding where you will keep your candles. The dining room table is a good choice, but a kitchen bar, the coffee table, or another surface may work better for your family. Use a purple tablecloth or table runner, undyed linen, or a rough fabric like burlap. Next you’ll need to set up your candles in the shape of a cross. You can use votives on a tray, cake plate or pie pan you already have or tapers in holders. If you would like a set specifically for lent, these candle sets have all the special colors in one pack. Amazon has holders for tapers like these modern ones, these classic ones, and these glass ones. There are also special lent candle holders like the one linked here, though they are not in the shape of a cross.

Finally, you’ll need to decide when you will observe the candle lighting. You may choose to pair this with the reading from the Lenten Booklet (located at each entrance on Sunday morning) at the start of dinner. You may want to pair it with the prayer and song from the Lenten Booklet before bed. You may chose to do it first thing in the morning and let them burn for part of the day. The possibilities are open to what works best for your family.

Below are several ways you can set up your candles.