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There are special calendars that commemorate the season of Advent, with a little door opening up each day between Dec. 1 and Dec. 25. They don't achieve this purpose quite as well, in my opionion, if they fail to have a picture that relates to Jesus, Mary and Joseph on them!
At your parish Church, I suspect there is an Advent wreath. Generally, one would have three purple and one pink candle (or all white candles and bows in the appropriate colors). These candles represent the four weeks of Advent leading toward Christmas.
Long ago, when the Bible was interpreted more literally, it was thought that there were 4,000 years between Genesis and the Incarnation. Each candle represented a thousand years of that journey toward Christmas. I love the symbolism of the light growing brighter and brighter with each succeeding week until the Light of the World is born, announced by a star!
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