Advent Calendars

Advent is the start of the Christmas season in England. The first sign of Christmas in an English home is the children's advent calendar. It starts on the first day of December. The calendars are a fun way to help children to know when Christmas Eve will arrive, an important night for them because Father Christmas will visit them bringing gifts.

An Advent calendar is a poster or card with twenty-four small doors, one to be opened each day from December 1 until Christmas Eve. Each door conceals a picture. Every morning children open 1 window of the calendar to see a pretty picture or find a chocolate inside.

This popular tradition arose in Germany in the late 1800s and soon spread throughout Europe and North America. Originally, the images in Advent calendars were derived from the Hebrew Bible.

Many Advent calendars today have no religious content. Now, alongside traditional Advent calendars depicting angels and biblical figures are those whose doors open to display teddy bears, pieces of chocolate, or photos of pop stars.

An Advent Candle has 25 marks. Every day it is lit and is burned down by one mark each day.