Advent Calendars, Advent Wreaths & Other Activities
Advent is a series of days that lead up to the Christmas holiday. The Advent calendar consists of the 24 days prior to Christmas. The term “advent” comes from the Latin word “adventus” which means “coming.” This holiday period signifies the coming of Christ.
One way that Advent is prepared for is by use of a device known as an Advent calendar. A simple device, in many cases actually created by children, this device allows the celebrants to track how far they are along in the Advent holiday period.
An advent calendar usually includes advent candles to track the days of the holiday period. Since there are 24 days that come before Christmas, each day is assigned a candle in the calendar. When a day arrives, the family celebrating the holiday denotes that day by lighting a candle on its behalf.
Advent calendars come in all shapes and sizes. They also come in a wide variety of formats and designs. One common design of an Advent calendar is in the form of a Christmas tree. This design has 24 candles attached to branches that make up the tree and are lit each day.
Another advent calendar design is a candy holder calendar. The candy holder calendar includes 24 pockets that are filled with candy. As each day arrives in the holiday season, someone, usually a child, takes the candy out of the holder and eats it.
An advent wreath is another device that is used to prepare for and track the Advent holiday season. An advent wreath has 4 candles, unlike the calendar, which uses 24 candles. This is because the advent wreath tracks and celebrates the weeks of advent as oppose to the days.
In preparing and celebrating the advent holiday days and weeks, celebrants engage in a wide variety of activities. From a religious standpoint, this is a time period where there is much prayer and even fasting in some cases. Priests and Pastors tailor their teachings and sermons to focus on the coming of Christ and what the Christmas holiday is all about. Some worshipers may even decide to sacrifice certain activities such as watching television, listening to certain types of music, etc.
Families celebrating Advent at home have a number of options available to them as well. One of the most common activities that a family can engage in together is to come together and either create or go shopping for an advent calendar that they can display and use together in the house. Families may also create certain advent themed games as well.
Advent is a major holiday for millions of Christians worldwide. There are a number of ways you can choose to celebrate it individually. We have provided you with some suggestions and guidelines but you really have the freedom to celebrate the holiday how you see fit. In fact, based on our ideas you might even come up with something new and unique that we never even thought of before.
