How Many Sleeps Until Advent Begins 2026?
Advent begins on 1 December for most households, when the first chocolate is eaten and the calendar is opened.
72sleeps to go
- Weeks
- 10
- Days
- 71
- Hours
- 1,707
- Minutes
- 102,462
- Seconds
- 6,147,758
Advent Begins 2026 falls on .
About Advent Begins 2026
Advent is the four-week run-up to Christmas. In shops and on social media it starts on 1 December, when 24-door calendars are opened for the first day, while in churches the season begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas and moves each year between 27 November and 3 December.
The word comes from the Latin adventus, meaning arrival. Traditional Advent wreaths carry four candles, one lit on each Sunday, with a fifth Christ candle in the centre on Christmas morning. Chocolate calendars date from early-20th-century Germany and became a household staple after the Second World War.
If you are counting down to the first door rather than to Christmas itself, the gap is short but the season feels long: December 1 sits 24 days ahead of Christmas Day, and the first Sunday of Advent adds the religious timing on top.
- Advent 2026 begins on Sunday 29 November in church calendars and on December 1 in shops.
- The first printed Advent calendar is credited to Gerhard Lang in Germany around 1908.
- Four candles mark the four Sundays; the centre candle is lit on Christmas Day.
- In Sweden and Finland the season opens with the first Advent Sunday and Saint Lucia on 13 December.
Advent Begins dates by year
More ways to count down
Frequently asked questions
How many days until Advent Begins 2026?
There are 72 days until Advent Begins 2026, which falls on Tuesday, December 1, 2026. The live countdown at the top of this page shows the exact time remaining in days, hours, minutes and seconds.
What day of the week is Advent Begins 2026?
Advent Begins 2026 falls on a Tuesday.
How many weeks, hours and minutes until Advent Begins 2026?
That is roughly 10 weeks, 1,707 hours or 102,462 minutes from now. The table on this page updates every second.
Is Advent Begins on the same date every year?
Yes. Advent Begins is on December 1 every year, although the day of the week changes.
When is Advent Begins in 2026, 2027, 2028?
Advent Begins falls on Dec 1, 2026 (Tuesday), Dec 1, 2027 (Wednesday), Dec 1, 2028 (Friday).
What does “sleeps” mean in a countdown?
A sleep is one night. Counting sleeps instead of days is a kid-friendly way to measure how long is left: if there are 3 sleeps to go, you will go to bed 3 times before the day arrives.
When does Advent start?
Commercially on 1 December. In church it starts on the fourth Sunday before Christmas, which falls between 27 November and 3 December.
Is Advent the same as the 12 Days of Christmas?
No. Advent is the four weeks before Christmas, while the 12 Days of Christmas run from 25 December to 5 January.
Why are there 24 doors on an Advent calendar?
One for each day of December up to Christmas Eve, a convention popularised by German chocolate makers.