It’s that time of year again! Yes, it’s the first day of the Anne Boleyn Files Advent Calendar!
There are no chocolates behind these advent calendar doors – sorry! – but there are Tudor facts, recipes, videos, trivia, puzzles and more, so I do hope you’ll enjoy it all the same.
Do remember to check back every day to open the next door. Simply click on the image here or on the header of the Anne Boleyn Files website.
I’ve had a few people ask me what Advent is. Well, the word “advent” comes from the Latin “adventus”, meaning “coming”, and it’s the season in the Christian church where we celebrate and think about the coming of Christ, and count down to the celebration of his birth on Christmas Day. In Tudor times, Advent, or the four weeks leading up to Christmas, was a time of fasting, or abstaining from meat, which did not end until Christmas Day, or rather midnight mass on Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve was particularly strict, with eggs and cheese also being ruled out, but then it was followed by feasting on Christmas Day.
