Advent Calendars

The teddy bears love having an Advent calendar before Christmas. Opening a little numbered door, or an envelope or small box, to reveal a prize is very exciting!

Advent is a religious period beginning on the Sunday nearest the Feast Of St Andrew The Apostle (on 30th November), through the following 3 Sundays. Historians estimate that Advent, which derives from the Latin word for 'coming', has been celebrated since the 4th Century.

Nowadays it is more commonly associated with the lead-up to Christmas Day which is still a holy festival of the anniversary of Christ's birth on 25th December.

Today, Advent calendars begin on 1st December and mark the 24 days before Christmas Day. Usually they involve the opening of paper doors or lids of boxes to reveal a Christmassy image, a piece of chocolate or other small gift.

The tradition dates to the mid-19th Century when German Protestants made chalk marks on doors or lit candles to count the days leading up to Christmas.