Advent officially began yesterday, marking the period up until Christmas, celebrating the birth of Jesus. The word itself comes from the Latin "adventus", meaning coming or arrival. It always commences on the Sunday nearest St Andrew's Day, being the fourth Sunday before Christmas, and marks the beginning of the liturgical year, as it did for our ancestors.
Traditions surrounding Advent including lighting an Advent candle and opening Advent calendars. In terms of its history, the idea of Advent and the preparations for Christmas has been around since the fifth century. However, some of the traditions associated with Advent, such as chocolate in the calendar, have more recent origins!
