Aylesbury neighbourhood's special countdown to Christmas
24 households got involved
Last updated 2nd Jan 2022
Across Old Town in Aylesbury, 24 households created a special countdown to Christmas by turning their windows into advent decorations.
An Aylesbury neighbourhood teamed up together to create a special countdown to Christmas. Twenty-four households turned their front windows into advent decorations.
The advent decorations feature symbols associated with Christmas, including bells, stars, candles, angels, and Shepherds.
The idea for advent window display came from St. Mary's Square resident Rachel Lucas and was organised by Tamara Zimmerman of the Rectory in St. Mary's Square.
Amy de Sybel, who took part in the community advent display, said: "I was very excited to take part in the project when it was announced. I knew that my husband Nathaniel, who is an artist, would make something beautiful for our kitchen window and hopefully spread some Christmas joy at a time that's tough to so many people. It was a lovely idea to light up all the windows across Old Town."
Her husband's number one display featured an angel and the Shepherds. She said the Shepherds are typically depicted in Western art history as falling back in terror and struck by the angel's brightness.
However, her husband chose to paint the shepherd offering the angel many flowers instead, calling the painting "The Adoration of the Shepherd".
Amy's neighbour Joely Golding-Kuhn display featured a stained glass made from scratch:
Each day around 4 pm, the display is revealed, replicating the advent calendar experience. The window designs are illuminated each evening. The residents will come together at St. Mary's Church on Christmas Day, where the final display will be revealed.
"Every household had the number associated with the advent calendar. We had our painting in the kitchen window, and we had a lot of people walking past, smiling, and taking photos and it's been an absolute joy seeing what people have done, and the creativity of the Aylesbury neighbourhood was extraordinary.
"This project definitely brought our community together. Everybody was so enthusiastic, and people have been individually so creative with their window displays. It brought us together because we know our immediate neighbours, but we have got to know so many more, and people have helped one another create displays and give some advice. It has been a wonderful community event."
Hear all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, smartspeaker, at greatesthitsradio.co.uk, and on the Rayo app.