As the days grow shorter, darker, and colder, our longing for the light intensifies. In these lengthened days of winter, the Advent calendar window opened to reveal Mary, the mother of Jesus, the one who carried light into the world.

A set of double doors marked "17" on my Advent calendar opened to a charming image of a minister surrounded by children.

My first thought was of one of the most famous passages in the New Testament:

The December 13 window opens to the fourth gospel-the eagle symbol of the evangelist John.

As I opened window 10, I had to squint to see a small angelic figure holding a book-the traditional Christian symbol for Matthew, the gospel writer. Although Christmas conjures images of angels, the Matthew sign isn't an angel. His symbol is a human being with wings.

When I opened the sixth window on the Advent calendar, a very traditional Christian picture greeted me: a shepherd carrying a sheep.