Our Advent

We have collected many advent style calendars over the years.

Each year we choose a few that we want to use and often add a new one.

Some of them are just for fun and others we use to help us keep our focus on the true meaning of Christmas.

This year we added our Lego City advent to feed our Lego addiction.

Our friendly elf also brought a mini chain countdown that is hanging on our fridge where we can see it getting shorter each day.

Another new advent countdown that we have added is this candle

The star dish was passed down to us by my grandfather and my parents brought the candle back from a recent trip to England.  We always had birthday candles similar to this when I was growing up, so this has been a fun calendar to use.  We light the candle each night while we eat dinner and blow it out when it reaches the next number.

Not all of our calendars are just about counting down the days though...

Each night before bed, we read a scripture and a short Christmas story from this book.  Each day also has a Christmas song, but my kids voted me down on singing each night - this year at least.

We are also using the advent theme in our Family Home Evenings.

 Both of my parents grew up in the Lutheran faith and one of their Christmas traditions is the Advent Wreath.

The candles represent the coming of the light of Christ to the earth.  Each Sunday one candle is lit and the sermon that week focuses on the topic represented by that candle.  Drawing on this idea, we are using those topics in our FHE lessons leading up to Christmas:

 Week 1: Prophecy Candle - in remembrance of the prophets who foretold the birth of Christ. Also, hope or expectation in anticipation of the coming Messiah. 

Week 2: Bethlehem Candle - a reminder of the love our Father has for us in sending his Son as our salvation.

Week 3: Shepherd's Candle - representing joy in the knowledge of our Redeemer

Week 4: Angel's Candle - represents the peace that Christ brings to our lives through the atonement

Christmas Eve - the white Christ Candle.  represents the purity of Christ as our sinless, spotless, pure Savior. Also, those who receive Christ as Savior are washed of their sins and made whiter than snow.