Advent wreaths and calendars...

Advent wreaths and calendars...
.
Neither custom has ever interested me in the least.  I suppose that sounds irreverent, but the practice has never moved me to devotion.  And they are usually awkwardly displayed as well as really ugly.
.
BTW - The origins of the Advent wreath dates back to pagan times in Northern Europe and was adapted by the Christians - some say in the Middle Ages, others say during the Reformation.  Of course the Advent calendar does indeed date back to the Reformation - it began as a Lutheran thing.  No big deal though.
.
Traditionally, the weeks before Christmas were always observed as a minor lent; prayer and fasting from the feast of St. Martin to Christmas Eve.  In the West, the days of preparation were shortened to four weeks or so beginning with the fourth Sunday before Christmas.  In modern times the Advent Season has lost much of its penitential character, although many traditional Catholics are known to give things up, as in the Great Lent.
.
Photo:  Catholic school girls preparing the Advent wreath in the Sister's community room, just before ducking out for a cigarette beneath the gym.  Photo source unavailable.