Four Sundays before Christmas (November 30, this year), many Christians begin to celebrate Advent. In some traditions, the season is a fast; in others, the generally festive pre-Christmas spirit intrudes. For all Christians, Advent is a time of expectation and longing.
Expectation and longing could be said to be behind the tradition of Advent calendars. In the early 1900s, Germans started printing calendars with little flaps to be opened each day until Christmas. Some advent calendars had little pictures; others had Bible verses.
This advent calendar is along similar lines, except that you won't be able to peek ahead. Each day of advent, we will add another image and passage about the meaning of Christ's incarnation.