Advent
As many children across the world will open their first window of their Advent calendar today, I thought I would give a little insight into its origins.
The idea of physically marking Advent has its roots in the late 19th century. The Lutherans in Germany, used to make chalk marks on doors from December 1st until the 24th, making it into an actual calendar a few years later.
When I was a child, each door of the Advent Calendar portrayed scenes from the Nativity, with the last one opened on the 24th, showing Mary, Joseph and Jesus in the stable.
The word “Advent” comes from the Latin phrase “coming toward.” For Christians, the period of Advent marks “coming toward” the birth of Christ. However, it is not just about remembering the joy of Jesus coming into the world 2000 years ago, it is also a time of looking forward in eager anticipation to Jesus returning again.
In Autumn 2020, I started embroidering scenes from the Nativity. The idea was to eventually put these into a frieze. However, when I do finish all the scenes, I will definitely have to find somebody else to put them together, as that is not my forte!
This embroidery depicts the Angels proclaiming to the shepherds in great joy, that Jesus had come into the world. 😃
