The advent calendar

According to the tradition of the Latin Church, Advent corresponds to the 4 weeks leading up to Christmas. Every morning during this period, children open a window in their Advent calendar. Originally, this would be a cardboard house with 24 windows, each revealing a verse from the Bible. Over the last few decades, this has evolved into windows containing little chocolates or other small gifts.

Since Antiquity, wreaths of greenery or fir branches have been representative of celebration and the hope of rebirth. In about 1930 in Alsace, this symbol became the Advent wreath. Perpetuating this local tradition, housewives place in one of the rooms a crown made of fir branches decorated with ribbons, pine cones and sometimes dried fruit, as well as 4 candles. These 4 candles, one of which is lit each Sunday in December, bathe the room in a gentle light. They symbolise the 4 seasons of the year and the 4 periods of life. They light they diffuse, combined with the greenery, is said to protect against evil and catastrophe. They also evoke the rebirth of the sun and are a reminder of the sacred homage paid in churches.