An Advent Book of Days

Book excerpt: An Advent Book of Days tells the stories of all the characters and creatures that make up the Christmas story, with daily prayers and reflections based on their experiences. Fully illustrated in colour, this rich seasonal companion combines the bible, history, art and legend to explore the story of the incarnation. For each day of Advent, we meet a character caught up in the drama of the nativity, from the archangel Gabriel to the ox and ass in the stable. We discover what their portrayal in scripture reveals about them, how they have been understood in history, what folk legends have accrued around them, and what their stories offer for faith and devotion today. This is a book to engage all the senses and the imagination, to be enjoyed slowly and to shed new light on the most famous and familiar story of all.