The start of Advent is a few days away, and we all know what that means: stuffing our faces with all the chocolate from our Advent calendar on the first day.

We all do it. It’s not a secret. But do most of us know why we even have Advent calendars to begin with?

Some of you may know that Advent comes from the Latin word adveniat, which in English means “coming.” When you think about what we do during the Advent season, it makes sense. As we patiently (or not so patiently) wait for Christmas and the arrival of the Christ child, we experience this period of anticipation and reflection. It’s a time of joyful preparation of our hearts and minds.

Advent calendars have evolved over time, beginning in the 1900s when Gerald Lang was credited with inventing the very model. What began as a cardboard calendar marking down the days until Christmas transformed into little doors on the calendar that would open each day to reveal a surprise. Today, that surprise is usually chocolate, although you may not know what kind of chocolate you’ll be getting.

Here at America, we want to treat you to a different kind of Advent calendar—a digital one. Every day, you’ll receive an assortment of video and audio Advent reflections from various members of our team, plus links to some of the best arts and culture reviews of this year, Faith in Focus essays and a few more surprises.

Sign up to receive our daily newsletter to make sure you don’t miss out. You can unwrap the first surprise on Sunday, Dec. 2, 2018!

Or visit this page every day to find out what surprises we have in store for you in the new liturgical year.

Happy Adventing!