Living in the UK: Advent Season
“‘Tis the Season to be Jolly! Fa la la la la, la la la la~” when this music fills the shops, we know it is that time of the year again! And in the UK, celebrations in anticipation for Christmas have already begun this 28 November!
1. Advent
Christmas, as you might already know, is the festival that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. But churches start preparing for the coming of Jesus four weeks before Christmas. These four weeks are called “Advent” (from the Latin word Adventus, meaning “coming” or “arriving”), with 28 November (First Sunday of Advent) marking the beginning of this year’s Advent Season. And as the birth of Jesus Christ brought new life to mankind and a chance for people to reconcile with God, traditionally churches also celebrate First Advent Sunday as the new year day on church (liturgical) calendar.
During Advent, churches will hold different kinds of services and activities, to welcome the coming of Christ and to wait upon Him. There will be Christingle Services for children (where each child will get an orange with a candle on top, representing the light of Christ shining over the world), Nativity Play (in which children play out scenes from the Bible about the first Christmas), traditional services like Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, and other Advent Carols. You can visit nearby churches to see if there is anything suitable for you to experience what Advent is all about!
2. Advent Calendars
Though Advent started on 28 November, for most Brits – especially the children – 1 December is the beginning of the Christmas Season that they have been waiting for. Because in the UK, many people will buy Advent calendars for their children and themselves. This kind of calendar is usually a cupboard or a box consisting of 24 or 25 little windows. You can open one window each day from 1 December onwards, and Christmas Day will be upon you by the time you open the last window. What are hidden behind these little windows? For more traditional calendars, they usually contain pictures depicting the Christmas story. For those more commonly found on the market, they usually hide chocolate, candies, or other tiny gifts. Some families will even make their own Advent calendars and prepare special treats or messages for their children.
3. Christmas Lights
You probably already see beautiful Christmas lights lighting up your city (especially at the city centre and at the shopping areas) and your neighbourhood. Christmas lights are indeed a very important part of Christmas in Britain. Some cities would even invite local celebrities to turn on the lights, with crowds gathering to countdown to the moment when the lights are turned on. Many families would also start decorating their homes with lights and Christmas trees after Thanksgiving (25 November).
4. Pantomimes
Apart from Nativity Plays, many parents in the UK will take their children to pantomimes during Advent. Pantomimes is a form of interactive theatre, their repertoires are often based on classical fairy tales, but with added elements of audience participation, jokes, and comedies. During the performance the audience will be encouraged to clap, shout, sing, or dance along. Sometimes the audience will even shout at the leading actor/actress: “The villain is behind you!” So, in short, pantomime is a Christmas activity where everyone can come together to raise as big a ruckus and have as much fun as they like.
After this introduction, are you also looking forward to the Christmas Season (like we are)? Of course, many activities might have to be cancelled due to the threat of the new COVID variant. But we would still like to wish everyone here a peaceful Advent filled with hope!