Advent is the four weeks, including the fourth Sunday, before Christmas Eve. Advent comes from the Latin adventus, which signifies coming and arrival. Christians use this term to show the coming of Christ to live amongst men. Since Pope Gregory the 1st, Advent has represented the period of preparation for the coming of Christ.
Advent starts with the fourth Sunday before Christmas and marks the beginning of the Ecclesiastical year.

November arrives in the towns and in the countryside, the sky is grey, the days are short, night invades the houses, the rain, the cold, the wind. Even in pagan times, festivals were organised. They celebrated the desire of the people to conquer their fear of returning home to dark houses and the alarming arrival of the long nights of winter.

The main symbol of advent is light, which is understandable at this time of year. Light does not only chase away the darkness but also represents the spirit and the struggle against evil.

Thanks to this festival, the run up to Christmas is transformed into a celebration of light and fertility. Dark days are filled with lights. Preparing for Christmas transforms the sad days of November into a holiday full of hope. Conquering the evil spirits brought by the imagination acted upon by the cold and the night. Conquering death. The sun sleeps, long live the sun and worship it.

During advent people wait for the big day. An advent wreath on the table, an advent wreath on the door, garlands round the doors and the warm light of candles.

The feast of Saint Andre being several days before the start of Advent heralds its beginning. The Sunday closest to this feast is the first Sunday of Advent.

Our Northern European ancestors, who believed that the sun would disappear forever, kept a wreath made of green leaves in their home in the heart of winter.

In Germany they only started having advent wreaths since the First World War.

The wreath is an ancient symbol with several meanings. The round advent wreaths evoke the sun and announce its return. More recently, a German priest decided to light a candle on a wheel each day, to mark off the 24 days before Christmas. The wheel has been replaced by a Christmas tree and the candles reduced to four, to mark off the four Sundays before Christmas.

For Christians, the wreath is also a symbol of Christ the King, the holly reminds them of the crown of thorns placed on Christ's head before he was nailed to the cross. The four Sundays symbolise the four seasons and the four points of the compass. Christmas will arrive when the fourth candle is lit. The candles are usually red to evoke fire and light. On Swedish wreaths the candles are white, the colour of festivals and purity. In Austria, they choose purple candles that symbolise penitence.

The advent calendar is a German tradition, thought up by a father who wanted to cool the impatience of his children. He cut out religious pictures and gave them to the children each morning. Later, the religious pictures were replaced by biscuits.

Some festivals signal the beginning of winter, such as Halloween on 31st October, and the Germans have the feast of Saint Martin on the 11th November. The most important festival for the people of the north and east of Europe is the feast of Saint Nicolas on the 6th November.

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