Live advent calendar in Luton is a window of opportunity for High Town festive cheer

In the absence of traditional services, parties and concerts, 24 local families and residents are creating a live advent calendar by putting up varied displays in their front windows. They will collectively tell a story of comfort and joy in these strange times of Covid-19.

A new display will appear every day from the 1st to the 24th of December based on a different section or theme from the Christmas story.

Local residents are then invited to embark on mini-pilgrimages to visit each of the windows.

At each display there are some simple reflections or activities to help people think about their own lives and what inspiration the story may bring, especially at this challenging time.

For example, on December 7 the window is themed around JOURNEY, thinking about Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem. Our modern-day travellers will be encouraged to reflect on what journeys they have missed in 2020 and what journeys they are looking forward to in 2021.

People may want to make three or four journeys over the course of December to get to see all the windows as they gradually appear. For those who just happen to stumble across the displays, a QR code in each window links to a Facebook page where they can access the reflections and other information.

The wider community is also getting involved, and people can look out for displays on the exteriors of St Matthew’s Primary School and St Matthew’s Church.

Anyone who wants to join in the fun can find the map, the reflections, some pictures of the windows so far and peoples’ responses on http://www.facebook.com/htadventwindows

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