Explain advent calendars to me

[sergeantmajor]

I'm creating an online advent calendar for work. I always thought that they started on 1st December, running through to Christmas Eve. But now I've discovered that official advent starts a couple of days earlier this year.

Do I need to start the calendar from the official first day of advent on 29 November? Or is it culturally acceptable to start on 1st December?

Do you start with no.1, or do you start with no.24 and work backwards through the numbers?

This is for a mainstream fun project, not for a religious audience, although there may be religious people amongst them. I don't want to cause offence to people who are devout, or to get it 'wrong'.

Please enlighten me!

For a non religious audience I would expect to start on 1st Dec and open it starting at 1, going up to 24.

I have only ever seen advent as the 4 sundays before Christmas in a church service where the candles are lit each week so I would feel that starting on 29th Nov would be much more of a Christian celebration.

For your purposes I would just start on 1st December. Most advent calendars you can buy start then do it's likely that's what will be expected.

Strictly speaking advent starts on Advent Sunday, the fourth Sunday before Christmas. But I’d start on 1 December as that’s when all advent calendars do. Start with number one.

I think most people would expect you to start on the first. General traditional is to start with 1 on the first.

Religious advent is the four Sundays before Christmas I think? Or I it 28 days.

I agree - 1st to 24th Dec is what most people expect and you start with door 1 on the 1st.

1st is fine, advent Sunday is earlier you are correct but it alters. Nobody will mind if you do 1-24 as that's the norm in the U.K. even my advent candles from the Christian resources shop are 1-24!

If devout people are going to be offended, they'll be more offended by the use of the advent calendar concept for a fun work activity. But I doubt it will be an issue. 1-24 is fine. At least you're not doing a "12 days of Christmas" activity that starts 12 days before Christmas!

I've never seen an advent calendar starting before 1st December
You start with 1 and go up to 24 - I always thought that was to match the date but maybe not if some start before the 1st

THANK YOU ALL!