Today is the First Sunday of Advent. We lighted the first Advent candle and had time together. The word “Advent” is derived from the Latin word adventus, meaning “coming,”. The Advent season lasts for four Sundays leading to the celebration of Christmas.
In Latvia, we are celebrating “Christmas” on Christmas Eve and Santa will come on Christmas Eve, not on Christmas morning! This year it will be interesting cause Fourth Sunday of Advent is on Christmas Eve! It’s barely 22 days to go! Get your Santa’s beard countdown here.
Is the big celebration of Christmas on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning in your family? Does Santa come on Christmas Eve and leave presents outside the door or under the tree or does he come on Christmas morning and put presents in socks hanging by the fireplace!
Peace on Earth,
Ilze
“Santa” puts presents under the tree and stuffs our stockings for Christmas morning. I let my son open one present on Christmas Eve too.
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One on Christmas Eve? Interesting – how much presents he have usually!? We stick with one-two per kid!
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I’m an only child and he’s an only child so he gets too many. Some from me and some from my mom.
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🙂 I would love to be your sister on Christmas!
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Be my sister in Latvia! 😀
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😀
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❤️
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My girls have always had too many presents all on Christmas day.. They all selected a chair or the sofa and you wouldn’t see the furniture for presents. Now they are in the 30’s and they still expect the same.
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It sounds that you know how to spoil :)! Good!
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Santa comes on Christmas Eve after the kids are asleep in our family. My parents have a Christmas Eve party every year and the grand kids exchange gifts, now that we are all grown. My boys are grown and still expect Santa to come!
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Nice! So nice of you that you shared your story! Thank you!
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Ilze, I love your advent wreath! I have never seen a wooden one. It’s delightful with its figurines and candle holders. We celebrate advent too, lighting a candle each day, time for a scripture reading and then we all share one thing we’re thankful for that day. Have a blessed advent! 😊❤️
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They have St Nickolas day on the 6th December here in Poland and the kids get presents then. Although Christmas eve is the celebration, the family gathered for a meal together at the in-laws. And then we have an very British Christmas dinner on Christmas day at our place, with maybe, just maybe, some more presents for the kids 🙂
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Sounds interesting. Also our “blog” friend GrumpyTyke is celebrating 6th December! This year I heard about 6th December for the first time in my Life. Poland isn’t so far away from Latvia, but here we are celebrating Christmas Eve. Thank you for sharing!
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The 6th is most definitely for the kids, and it makes for a more peaceful Christmas 🙂
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🙂 I see! I once “suggested” to my mom that we might open presents on 23rd of December! She was angry 😀 I said: What, at least you don’t have to worry about that anymore 🙂
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No ‘kids’ here but we hang up a stocking (no fireplace in our modern flat so no chimney, but Santa gets to them somehow). Usually he leaves some little things including chocolate, nuts and an orange in the stockings. If we’re lucky we might find a present or two under the tree but they can be opened only after breakfast – smoked salmon, scrambled eggs and ‘bubbly’.
6 Dec, St Nicholas, a shoe is left on the windowsill the night before. If you’ve been good you’ll find some sweets in it. If you’ve not been good just a stick!
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How interesting about shoe on the windowsill!!!! There are something about shoes in Germany I guess, but not sure if it’s on 6th of December!
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The shoe on the windowsill here comes from Romania. I know children in Germany get presents on 6 Dec, not at Christmas. Same, as Eddy says, in Poland and in Holland.
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Nice! I wonder how it is in Estonia and Lithuania!
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I’ve loved reading everyone’s stories! Here we celebrate Finnish Christmas on 24th – we cook Finnish Christmas food and have a peaceful time with our little family. Then it’s Australian Christmas day where we wake up to presents under the tree and then go for a big noisy lunch with the extended family.
When we are living in Finland we will be gathering with some extended family for a dinner in Christmas Eve. Then Santa actually visits the house and the children sing to him – then he will hand out their presents 🙂 I’m not sure yet how we will incorporate Australian Christmas traditions in Finland!
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Yes! Me too! I can’t imagine how you incorporate that! 🙂 But you will! And you should do what works for your family! 🙂
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