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What is the meaning of advent? | What do advent candle colours mean? - YouTube
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well hello there my name's mark buchanan
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from eden.co.uk
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and in this video we're going to talk
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about what advent reads represent
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i suppose the first question we should
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ask ourselves though is what
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is advent advent takes its name from the
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latin word adventus
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which literally means coming or arrival
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and carries the idea of waiting
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expectantly for something
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[Music]
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no one knows for sure exactly when the
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christian season of advent was first
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observed
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but we know the tradition stretches back
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at least 1500 years
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in christianity advent is a period when
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we think about the arrival of jesus
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from three different perspectives
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firstly his arrival on the earth as a
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baby
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secondly his arrival into our hearts
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when we accept him as our lord and
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savior
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and thirdly his triumphant return to the
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earth at the end of time
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in the 15th centuries the advent has
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been celebrated many traditions and
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practices have grown up around it
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for instance the use of foliage wreaths
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to commemorate the advent season
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can be traced all the way back to 16th
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century germany
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but the modern day version with
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different colored candles has only been
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with us since
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1839 this modern version was the
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invention of a german lutheran
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theologian
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named johann henrich vikkern he was a
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passionate believer in the need to
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improve people's
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physical and social conditions as well
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as their spiritual well-being
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this led him to set up hostels where
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wayward men and boys could receive
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practical education
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to help them earn a living when he was
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just 25
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wickens set up the rowers house or
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roughhouse in hamburg
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which soon filled to capacity
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as the christmas season approached vicar
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found himself constantly being asked
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is it christmas yet in order to avoid
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this daily interrogation
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he decided to build a candle wheel he
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found an old wagon wheel
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which he hung like a chandelier in the
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prayer hall of the rowers house
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he placed four large white candles
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equally spaced around the rim of the
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wheel
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to represent the four sundays in
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december before christmas
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he then placed a smaller red candles to
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fill the gaps between the white candles
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six each for the first three weeks and
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four for the last week
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each weekday and saturday he would light
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one of the red candles
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and on each of the sundays he would like
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one of the large white candles
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this was a simple way of marking the
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days of advent and also helped some of
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the smaller children to learn how to
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count
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words soon spread about johan hinrich
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vikken's new invention
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and families all over germany started to
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copy it
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during that time traditional foliage
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began to be incorporated into these
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candle rings
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and the advent wreath as we now know it
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was born
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by the early 1900s advent wreaths were
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starting to appear in protestant
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churches
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and not long after that catholic
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churches also started to use them
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by the 1940s many churches in america
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were using advent wreaths in their
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advent services
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sometime during this period a fifth
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candle the christ candle
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was added to the center of the advent
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wreath to symbolize the light
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that came into the world with the birth
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of jesus and the purity of his life
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it may surprise you to know that advent
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reads were virtually unheard of in the
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uk
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until 1965 when children's program blue
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peter
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demonstrated how to make one and it was
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only in the 1980s
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that the alternative service book of the
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church of england started to offer any
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guidance
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as to how to incorporate advent reads
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into advent services
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it may also surprise you to know just
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how many layers of meaning an advent
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reef has
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for instance the circular shape of the
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reef symbolizes the eternal nature of
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god and the everlasting life we find
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through jesus
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even the evergreen foliage used to wrap
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the wreath can be seen
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as a symbol of the continuity of life
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holly with its spiky leaves and blood
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red berries is a seasonal reminder of
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jesus crown of thorns
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and his blood and pine cones speak to us
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of life coming from
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death and then there's the candles
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the red and white ones chosen by johan
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henrik vikken
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were probably just what was available in
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his house and they've remained the
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traditional lutheran colours
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once advent wreaths started to be used
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in churches though it didn't take long
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for pastors and priests to realize that
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they could use the four candles to
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represent the four themes of the advent
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season
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they also realized that they could match
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the colour of the candles to the colour
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of the vestments that they wore
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during advent so what do advent candle
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colors mean
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in the anglican church the four main
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candles are usually red
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symbolizing communion in some anglican
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churches and in catholic churches
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three of the four main candles are
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purple symbolizing prayer and penitence
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and the fourth is rose coloured
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symbolizing joy
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in those anglican churches that follow
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the sarum rites
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the original basis for the anglican book
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of common prayer
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the purple candles are replaced by dark
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blue ones
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whose colour represents the colour of
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the night sky before the arrival of
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jesus
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the moravian church with its emphasis on
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simplicity and practicality
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prefers an advent wreath with just four
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plain white candles
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often made of beeswax
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different christian traditions give the
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advent candles different names
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and use them to represent different
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biblical themes
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but in the most popular traditions the
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first candle is referred to as the
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prophecy candle
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to symbolize the hope of a messiah
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proclaimed by the old testament prophets
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like isaiah the second candle is
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referred to as the bethlehem candle
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to commemorate mary and joseph's journey
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there in preparation for the savior's
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birth
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the third candle is referred to as the
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shepherd's candle and it reminds us of
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the joy that came into the world when
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jesus was born
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the fourth candle is known as the angels
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candle and commemorates their
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declaration in the skies over bethlehem
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of
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peace on earth good will to men
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in all traditions the fifth candle is
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the christ candle and it's
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lit on either christmas eve or christmas
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day to celebrate his birth and the light
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he brought to the world
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so the next time you see an advent
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wreath why not take a few moments to
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think about the symbolism woven into it
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and as you enjoy the glow of the candles
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remember the light of the world
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who came two thousand years ago who will
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come into your heart if you will let him
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and who will come to the earth again
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when the time is right
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