A Swedish export for Advent
I wonder whether you have come across the ‘Living Advent Calendar’ In Henley-upon-Thames? The idea originated in Stockholm, and is now enjoying its second year in the Thames Valley. Every night from 1st – 24th December, a different 15-minute performance takes place in a door or window around the town. The venues range from private houses, to youth clubs, to shops, concluding in the Parish Church.
To date I have been unable to pin down what the content of the performances might be, but that is probably part of its charm. My experience with Posada has been that once you let the nativity story out of the church doors, it can cope very well all by itself. Why is it, I wonder, that we often feel the need to ‘protect’ this story as if it were a poor fragile thing? If God had adopted the same approach, there would have been no dubious shepherds and no mystic magis in the stable, and Jesus would have been born as far from a pub as possible.
Enjoy your advent calendar, Henley…and look out Teddington!
Click on the image to visit the calendar!
