About Advent 2026

Advent 2026 is Tuesday 1 December 2026 to Thursday 24 December 2026 for advent calendars, while the church season begins on Advent Sunday, 29 November 2026. Advent Sunday is always the fourth Sunday before Christmas Day, which places it between 27 November and 3 December.

What is Advent?

Advent is the season of preparation before Christmas in the Western Christian calendar. It begins on Advent Sunday, the fourth Sunday before 25 December, and marks the start of the church year for Anglicans, Catholics, Lutherans and many other denominations. The name comes from the Latin adventus, meaning arrival. Churches light one candle on an Advent wreath each Sunday, and the Church of England publishes the season’s readings and liturgy in Common Worship.

Outside church the season is best known for advent calendars, which count down from 1 to 24 December. The tradition began in German Lutheran homes in the nineteenth century, and the first printed calendars appeared in Germany in the early 1900s. Chocolate calendars became widespread in the UK from the 1950s, and in the last decade beauty, toy, food and drink calendars have become a major retail category in their own right.

Why it matters for marketers and organisations

Advent is the countdown that structures the whole Christmas trading period. Retailers launch advent calendars from September and expect them to sell out by late November, then run daily offers and content through December. Charities use the 24 day format for giving campaigns and reverse advent calendars for food banks. Churches, schools and community groups plan carol services, nativity plays and Christingle events across the four Sundays. Employers use the season for staff appreciation, festive giving and end of year communications. The angle that works is a daily rhythm: one small thing every day, whether a product, a tip, a story or a donation.

Ideas: how to mark Advent

• Run a 24 day content or offer calendar on social media, email or your website.
• Organise a reverse advent calendar where staff add one food bank item a day and deliver the box before Christmas.
• Host a Christingle or carol service with a local church or school.
• Publish an Advent reading or reflection each Sunday if you are a faith based organisation.
• Create a staff kindness calendar with one small act suggested per day.
• Launch a limited product advent calendar in September with a firm cut off for pre orders.
• Share the history of advent calendars and wreaths in a short explainer post.
• Plan a daily two minute wellbeing prompt for teams during the busiest month of the year.

Key facts

• Advent Sunday falls between 27 November and 3 December each year.
• The traditional Advent wreath has four candles, one lit each Sunday, often with a fifth white candle for Christmas Day.
• The Munich publisher Gerhard Lang is credited with the first printed advent calendar around 1908.
• Cadbury produced its first chocolate advent calendar in 1971.
• In liturgical colour Advent is purple or blue, with rose on the third Sunday, Gaudete Sunday.
• Advent ends at sunset on Christmas Eve, 24 December.

Frequently asked questions

When is Advent 2027?

Advent Sunday 2027 is Sunday 28 November 2027, and advent calendars open on Wednesday 1 December 2027. The season ends on Christmas Eve, Friday 24 December 2027.

Why do advent calendars start on 1 December and not Advent Sunday?

Because Advent Sunday moves each year, calendar makers standardised on 1 December so that every calendar has 24 doors. The church season is usually a few days longer than the calendar countdown.

Is Advent the same in Orthodox churches?

No. Eastern Orthodox churches observe the Nativity Fast, a 40 day period beginning on 15 November, and those following the Julian calendar celebrate Christmas on 7 January.

Published 28 August 2026: dates checked for 2026 to 2028.

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