Advent is the countdown to Christmas and, more traditionally, the time between the four Sundays before Christmas Day. In Latin, ‘Advent’ means ‘Coming’; religiously speaking, this is to do with the birth of Jesus or his ‘coming’ into the world.
When was it first celebrated?
There is no specific date or time period that can be pinpointed to when the celebration of Advent began, but it can definitely be traced back to 567 when monks used to fast in the lead up to Christmas Day. Some people still adhere to this tradition, and some religions refrain from eating meat or dairy, but most people use it as a time to prepare for Christmas.
Advent calendars
The most common modern way to countdown to Christmas is through the advent calendar. There are so many different variations today and they are gaining in popularity. You can get calendars that have a chocolate behind each door, calendars that have a different alcoholic beverage behind each door, and you can also get calendars that make great Christmas decorations.
Why is Advent so popular?
The possibilities for celebrating Advent are endless, and the commercialisation of Christmas makes this even more prominent every year. Mostly, people feel a special kind of excitement during the lead up to Christmas and the festive feeling spreads far and wide, so Advent is a really great way to make the Christmas festivities last all month and get even more excited for the big day.
