Despite the snowy weather, the Advent season got off to a busy start at St Asaph Cathedral this weekend, with an interactive advent calendar, a prayer zone, and the candle-lit Advent Carol Service.
The weekend started with an interactive advent calendar – this year called ‘Follow that Star’ – 24 boxes of things to make, do or eat. The event took place alongside St Asaph City Council’s Party in the Street for Christmas, and the turning on of the Christmas lights. People were invited to come along and investigate the 24 boxes. Over 100 children and their families attended the event. Activities such as decorating the camel’s saddle, clearing up after Sam the Donkey, decorating crown biscuits and making angels to take home provided fun entertainment for all ages. The Chaplain, Vittoria Hancock, explained that the event was designed to explain the background to Christmas, and was an opportunity for people to explore the Cathedral and enjoy themselves.
Alongside the Advent Calendar this year was a more tranquil zone. The Translator’s Chapel was the venue for ‘A Light in the Darkness’. People were encouraged to come along, light a candle and spend time thinking about those they love this Christmas. There was be a book in which people wrote their own memories, or prayers. “Christmas is a time when we tend to focus on family and friends. Sometimes in all the pre-Christmas preparations we forget to take time to give thanks and appreciate what we have.”
The Advent season continued on Sunday with the increasingly popular Candle-lit Advent Carol Service. The Cathedral choirs led the worship, processing slowly round the building as the Cathedral gradually emerged from darkness into light. This service has become, for many, the beginning of the Christmas celebrations, allowing time and space to reflect and draw breath before the mad rush of preparations for Christmas.
