In the Western Church, Advent starts on the Sunday closest to the feast of St Andrew on 30 November and ends with Christmas Eve on 24 December. Learn about the history of Advent calendars and discover 24 festive objects from the collections in our care with our own Advent calendar.
Celebrating Advent
Advent is a time of lights, decorations, parties and general merry-making in the countdown to Christmas. It's thought that the origin of Advent has been celebrated by Christians since at least the 5th century, if not before. Advent was originally a period of fasting, prayer and preparation between the feast of St Martin on 11 November and the feast of Christ’s birth on 25 December.
The origins of the Advent calendar
Today, many people celebrate Advent with a cardboard Advent calendar, with 24 doors that hide images, chocolates or other sweet treats, each marking the countdown from 1 December to Christmas Eve. Advent candles are also still used by some households and in places of worship, with a section of the candle burned for every day of Advent.
Like a number of Christmas traditions in the English speaking world, such as festive trees, the origins of these calendars seem to have emerged in 19th-century Germany, where many Protestants would burn a candle for each day of Advent.
The first Advent calendars
The history of Advent calendars as we know them today gained popularity in Germany from around the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The most popular origin story today is that in the late 1800s, the mother of a German boy called Gerhardt Lang taped a sweet to a piece of cardboard for each day of advent.
As an adult, Lang set up a printing company with a friend called Reichhold and, inspired by his mother’s Advent treats, the pair printed the first Advent calendar in 1908. Although their business closed in the 1930s, the modern Advent calendar had caught the public's imagination and soon became a new Christmas tradition.
Days 1–5: Winter wonderlands
For the first days of our Advent calendar, we've pulled together some of the wintry highlights in the many landscape paintings we care for.
English artist Anthony Devis painted this atmospheric view of Upton House in Warwickshire around 1784. Figures are skating on the frozen Temple Pool, while the house can be seen in the background.
In this 17th-century landscape by Dutch artist Philips Wouwerman at Ascott Estate in Buckinghamshire, you can see some figures making the most of the snow and ice while travellers pass by on the road behind.
This pair of 19th-century caricatures by George Hunt at Calke Abbey, Derbyshire, show figures braving a blizzard. One is entitled A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in London.
The tranquillity of a winter's afternoon is captured in this 1841 oil painting by William Müller at Calke Abbey, Derbyshire. Figures walk along a frozen river, lit by the clear light of a winter sunset.
This 17th-century winter scene is full of activity, with lots of people out on a frozen river. One group appear to be playing hockey. Painted by Dutch artist Aert van der Neer, it's part of the collection at Tyntesfield, Bristol.
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Days 6–8: Father Christmas
Father Christmas still visits many of the places in our care every Christmas. Discover some objects of the collection that might remind you of him, from antique sleighs to symbols of reindeer.
The legend of Father Christmas and his sleigh pulled by reindeer grew out of the story of St Nicholas, a 4th-century Greek bishop famed for giving gifts to the poor. Arlington Court’s Carriage Museum in Devon houses this 19th-century sleigh, known as an Albany Cutter. It was named after the US city where it was first made.
Chimneys and fireplaces are Father Christmas's traditional mode of entry. Dyffryn House in Wales has several elaborate fireplaces, including this alabaster example. They were installed after John Cory bought Dyffryn Estate in 1891. He commissioned local architect EA Lansdowne to remodel the house in a mix of French Renaissance and English Baroque styles.
The association of reindeer with Father Christmas began with Clement Clarke Moore’s 1823 poem 'A Visit from St Nicholas'. This Scandinavian carved bone spoon at Snowshill Manor in Gloucestershire has a reindeer etched onto it.
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Days 9–13: The nativity
Christmas is the story of the conception and birth of Jesus. Here are works of art and objects in our collections that depict the nativity.
Golden stars surround the Virgin Mary in this sumptuous 14th-century triptych at Polesden Lacey, Surrey. The humility of her pose contrasts with the opulence of her blue and gold headdress.
The Angel Gabriel holds a sceptre and is pointing to an inscribed scroll in this stained-glass panel at Wightwick Manor in West Midlands. Designed by Charles Kempe in 1875, it represents Gabriel's visit to Mary.
Evelyn De Morgan's chalk and charcoal drawing of the nativity at Lanhydrock in Cornwall hints at later events in the biblical story. The Christ child is shown holding a chalice in one hand, with the other raised in blessing.
The walls of the Octagon Temple at Cliveden, Buckinghamshire, are adorned with mosaics. They were made by Victorian designers Clayton and Bell. This scene depicts the shepherds visiting baby Jesus.
This triptych, attributed to Hieronymus Bosch from the collection at Upton House in Warwickshire, depicts several figures kneeling before and worshipping the baby Jesus. The three kings are sumptuously dressed and their offerings of gold, frankincense and myrrh are masterfully painted.
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Days 14–16: Festive nature as decorative design
From holly to mistletoe, plants are used in many ways at Christmastime.
Holly isn't just used to deck the halls at Christmas. The light colour of holly wood has made it an ideal material to use in marquetry to create decorative scenes and motifs. This Elizabethan 'Nonesuch' chest, in the Long Gallery at Packwood House in Warwickshire, is inlaid with holly and bog oak.
Ivy is not only associated with Christmas – it's also the symbol for Bacchus, the Roman god of wine. An ivy crown is worn by one of his maiden followers, or ‘bacchante’, in this sculpture by Lawrence MacDonald at Mount Stewart in County Down.
The first written reference to kissing under the mistletoe dates from the 1820s but it's been used for centuries as a decorative motif. Here, seed pearls are used to represent the mistletoe’s distinctive white berries in this sumptuously bedecked purse from 1610 at Fenton House, London.
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Days 17–21: Christmas creatures
There are some creatures that we often think of at this time of year, especially if you celebrate Christmas dinner with the traditional turkey. But what about camels and goats? Discover the animals that hold festive traditions.
No one quite knows why robins became a symbol of Christmas, although the link dates back to at least the Victorian era. This robin is part of the collection on the pietra dura panels in the Spanish Room at Kingston Lacy, Dorset.
There's no mention in the bible of the wise men arriving on camels, but these animals have long been linked to Christmas. This embroidery at Mompesson House, Wiltshire, depicts the biblical story of Rebekah (which does involve camels).
Donkeys have become a key part of nativity plays. This porcelain donkey is one of a pair made in China in the early 18th century and is now in the collection at Polesden Lacey, Surrey.
In Scandinavian countries, the yule goat is an important Christmas tradition and is often depicted in ornaments made of straw. This painting by Sir Edwin Landseer hangs at Anglesey Abbey, Cambridgeshire.
Hanging on the wall at Treasurer's House, York, is this 17th-century embroidery. Animal and plant motifs were popular in English embroidery from the 1590s and this example features many, including a turkey near a peacock and a rather haughty-looking lion.
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Days 22–24: The gifts of the three kings
The gifts of the three kings are as well known as the nativity itself. But where you can find gold, frankincense and myrrh at our places?
Gold was a symbol of devotion and heavenly riches during the Renaissance. Gold leaf, created by beating gold into an extremely thin sheet, was used in this 15th-century double portrait from the collection at Upton House, Warwickshire, of a husband and wife in prayer.
Frankincense, an aromatic tree resin, is used in incense. This 18th-century cloisonné tripod incense burner at Kedleston Hall, Derbyshire was made in China. Cloisonné (French for ‘partition’) is the technique of using fine metal filaments to create a design of enclosed cells that are then filled with colourful glass enamel.
Myrrh, also a tree resin, has antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties and has been used to treat many different ailments. This apothecary’s cabinet from Calke Abbey, Derbyshire, has one drawer labelled ‘powder myrrh’.
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Art and collections
We care for one of the world's largest and most significant collections of art and heritage objects. Explore the highlights, our latest major exhibitions, curatorial research and more.
From silver charms in Christmas puddings to early Advent calendars, learn more about the ways our Roman, Victorian and medieval ancestors prepared for the festive season.
Christmas carols are at the very heart of festive tradition. Many of the texts, tunes and conventions of today’s carols owe more to 19th and early 20th-century taste than they do to the medieval period.
Wassailing is a Twelfth Night tradition with pagan roots, which aims to ward off bad spirits and ensure a good harvest the following season. Learn more about the tradition and its celebrations, which include music, song and dance.
Take a closer look at some of the Easter objects in our collections. From a religious holy day to a time for family traditions, discover the origins of Easter and the symbolic egg.
