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The liturgical Advent calendar is designed to enhance our expectation of Jesus with spiritual and material preparation by accommodating and simplifying the variety of happenings during Advent. It pulls together the household life: religious and secular, work and play, individual, familial and social. The dates and symbols can be adjusted with ease to accommodate the flux of days within the season of Advent and the fluctuation of our lives from year to year. Symbolized blocks are selected to remind us of significant dates, special occasions, and routine events.

To choose what symbols to use, gather your household calendars: daily planners, general calendars, school calendars, church calendars, and so on. On a sheet of paper, list the dates of the current Advent season. First note the dates for the four Sundays; they take precedence. Then map out the remaining dates you want to symbolize: special church activities, for example, Advent lessons and carols or Las Posadas; family events, such as a birthday or anniversary; the day to get the tree; and the day to bake cookies. Thumb through the pages of chapters 4, 5 and 6 for ideas. Once you have assigned dates to the occasions important to Advent and your household, you should have a list that looks something like this:

“Choose this day whom you will serve.”

—Joshua 24:15

Date	Observance
November 30	First Sunday of Advent and St. Andrew’s Day*
December 1
2
3	Birthday
4
5
6	Nicholas’ Day
7	Second Sunday of Advent
8	Mary’s Day
9	Pet birthday
10
11	Make cookie dough
12	Bake and decorate cookies
13	Mail gifts
14	Third Sunday of Advent
15	Fetch Christmas tree
16
17	Fire department Christmas party
18
19
20	Decorate tree and Hanukkah
21	Fourth Sunday of Advent and Las
22
23
24	Christmas Eve

With an eye to the unassigned dates on your list, read chapters 3, 4, 5 and 6. Select persons to remember or activities to do, filling in the open dates until no free dates remain. As you do so, read about the symbols that apply to the dates selected above and jot a note about all of the current days of Advent, as well as their assigned symbol numbers. The symbol numbers may be found in the caption under each symbol in chapter 10, where all of the symbols in this book are listed (in their order of appearance) with a key and cross-reference.

Chapter 3 surveys the biblical foundation of the three themes of Advent (past, future and present comings of Christ) and the three key figures of Advent (Isaiah, Mary and John the Baptist). Special holy days and persons essential to Advent but lacking a fixed date are covered in Chapter 4, including the four Sundays of Advent (already noted on your list) and easily overlooked figures, such as Joseph, who need an assigned date.

The saints and the Great ‘O’ antiphons comprise Chapter 5. When liturgical calendars are combined, every date during Advent, except December 11 and 15, commemorates a saint. A calendar that is used as a “Saints of Advent” commemoration calendar is conceivable, but the purpose of this household calendar is to “sacramentalize” and sharpen our present habituated lives. Therefore, you will more than likely select only a few persons from Chapter 5, beyond the principal Advent commemorations of Andrew, Nicholas, Mary, and the ‘O’ antiphons, for your calendar.

Chapter 6 contains the miscellany of the Christmas season as applied to Advent. Many symbols are offered to serve the variety of ways that folks observe Advent. Be selective and focused in making your choices. You may add something new or different next year.

On your dated list, note activities and traditions that are essential to your household and faith community, and then complement them with symbols to enhance your Advent vigilance. In sum, the process is one of working from known dates to assigning meaning to open dates. A completed list may be something like this (dates listed above are bold):

Date	Observance	Note inside flap or pocket	Symbol
November 30	1 Advent	First Sunday of Advent. What is Advent? Who was Andrew? Set up Advent calendar and make wreath.	21/P-l*
December 1	Fire	Stock the woodpile—what does fire symbolize?	72
2	Silence	Practice a day of silence.	87
3	Birthday	Help mom celebrate her birthday.	62
4	Isaiah	What is a prophet?	17
5	Lights	Hang outdoor lights. What do they symbolize?	76
6	Nicholas	Why hang stockings? Write Christmas list.	40/P-2
7	2 Advent	What is the theme of the Second Sunday of Advent?	22
8	Mary	Who was Mary, and why is she special?	18/P-3
9	Pet Birthday	Be kind to all living creatures. How are animals kin?	58
10	Angels	What is an angel?	27
11	Baking	Make cookie dough.	59
12	Decorating	Bake and decorate cookies.	60
13	Lucy	Enjoy a “Lucy breakfast” and mail gifts.	46/75
14	3 Advent	Why do we rejoice on the Third Sunday of Advent?	23
15	IS Christmas tree	Get the Christmas tree.	66
16	Joseph	Why is Joseph important?	29
17	Party	Attend Fire Department Christmas party at 5:30 P.M.	81/P-4
		Begin reciting ‘O’ antiphons with O Wisdom.
18	O Adonai	What does Adonai mean? What is the Law?	8/P-5
19	Magi	What do the Magi symbolize? O Root of Jesse.	30/P-6
20	Christmas tree Hanukkah	Why decorate a tree? O Key of David. What is Hanukkah? Eat something fried.	67/P-7 26
21	4 Advent	Fourth Sunday of Advent, Thomas and O Dayspring. Las Posadas at 5 P.M.	24/P-8 48
22	O King of Nations	How is Jesus the King of Nations?	53/P-9
23	Cleaning house	Finish getting ready for Christmas! O Emmanuel.	68 P-10
24	Christmas Eve	Advent closes; Christmas liturgy at 9:00 P.M. Replace wreath candles with white candles.	55

Once your list is complete, proceed to the instructions for making the calendar, found in chapters 7, 8 and 9. (The above list corresponds to the sample junk-mail version pictured.)