How can Advent calendars boost your Bible reading habits?

I don’t know when we reached peak Advent calendar. Maybe it was 2021, in a fit of post-Covid desperation.

Whenever it was, it doesn’t seem to show any signs of abating. They are, as one newspaper round-up put it, ‘as much a staple in the run-up to Christmas as drinking too much and listening to Last Christmas for the 1,237th time.’ A cursory look at the John Lewis website reveals a wealth of options – you can, among other things, spend £160 on a ‘Dazzle and Glow’ beauty Advent calendar, or £25 on one with a month’s worth of pork scratchings. Take your pick.

Last year, I sent an Advent calendar in the post to one of my god-daughters – a card of exquisite miniature proportions which was perfectly designed to delight ten-year-old girls, purchased in a Christmas shop which was perfectly designed to part doting adults from their cash. My god-daughter replied that it was remarkable that there were windows for the 1st and 2nd of December, when technically Advent didn’t start until Sunday 3rd that year. Anglicans may take what encouragement they can from that.

This year, I announced that I would make an Advent calendar for another small person in my life. Regret soon followed. It seemed simple enough to combine Christian content with small items to bring joy to a two-year-old – until I reckoned with quite how small the boxes were. Plus it’s safe to say that the random assortment of Christian content would not have the coherence to make it through The Good Book Company acquisitions process any time soon.

But perhaps that’s the magic of the Advent calendar – the secret of their enduring appeal to adults and children alike. There’s the ‘What will I discover today?’ sense of anticipation; there’s the satisfaction of something hidden being revealed; the steady countdown to the big day… and of course the sugar hit of a tiny piece of Cadbury milk chocolate.

Cultivating a daily Bible habit

But it got me thinking about what it would look like to approach another daily habit with the same degree of relish: the quiet time. Not just in December but all year round. To open the Bible with a sense of anticipation: ‘What new thing about the Lord will I discover today? What fresh truth does he have in store for me?’ To relish the satisfaction of mystery revealed: enjoying our privileged position as those who behold God in the face of Christ. To close the Bible each day with eyes eagerly fixed on that great Day – nearer now than when we first believed.

Yes, spending time in God’s word ought to be infinitely more exciting than an Advent calendar – even one containing pork scratchings. And as the year winds up and we turn to the start of a new year, that’s the kind of delight that I’m asking God to help me cultivate.

And, if you’ll forgive me the sales pitch, it’s for that same reason that I wrote a new little guide for reading the Bible called The Quiet Time Kickstart: Six Weeks to a Healthy Bible Habit. [See en's review] It’s for people who’d like to spend that kind of time with the Lord each day, but are out of the habit (or have never managed to develop one) – a bit like the ‘Couch to 5k’ running programme, but for reading the Bible. It’s out this month. After all, taking up running can certainly wait for the new year. The Bible is for today.