24, 23, 22...the north is turning into one big Advent calendar

Have you opened the little door, burned the first ring on the candle and – in these debased days – eaten the first chocolate? Indeed, it is Advent – and here are three new northern takes on the ancient last lap before Christmas. First, the model industrial village of Saltaire near Bradford is putting on its excellent tradition of turning the whole place into a 'living advent calendar'. Industrious locals, of whom the village's founder Sir Titus Salt , would have much-approved, have been preparing window displays which will be lit up in turn as the nights go by. You will be able to see all 24 from Christmas Eve until Twelfth Night, but the place is always worth visiting, as is the mighty mill which has been so marvellously brought back to life by the Silver family - the late Jonathan , and since his untimely death from cancer, his wife Maggie, brother Robin and his daughters Davina and Zoe. If you are close enough for repeat visits, check out the inventive modern versions of stained glass as they successively switch on. The calendar is organised by Saltaire Inspired and is now in its sixth year, with particular fun and games from 6.30pm when the local Christmas lights are switched on accompanied by mulled wine, a brass band and other such good things. Who knows what lies in store behind the currentl closed curtains, but past windows have featured such things as the lions which guard the village hall and Michael Jackson in the form of an angel. You can get more detailed info from the calendar's very own Facebook page and the village website's relevant online section . Also Adventing imaginatively is the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu , who today starts 24 brief homilies on his website. This follows a pilot exercise last year which went down well with his readers. Unfortunately neither he nor his family are doing drawings, or providing chocolate, but each online door has a nice photo to click on. You can check out his first message here – and subsequent ones up to Christmas Eve. He introduces the exercise thus: You may remember that last Christmas I wrote a series of reflections on my website as part of an online Advent Calendar – I was delighted to hear from people across the world who got in touch saying what a fantastic thing it was to be able take a little time out each day to reflect about what Christmas is all about. Christmas is, for me, the greatest story ever told. God's wonderful gift of love is for each and every one of us. These reflections will appear daily as we count down to the big day itself. Christmas is a wonderful time of the year, and I hope that people will join me so we can share the expectation and excitement of Advent together. Finally, for now, Liverpool takes the biscuit, or indeed chocolate, with the UK's biggest Advent calendar which is being projected on to the side of St John's shopping centre from Clayton Square between 4pm and midnight daily. The calendar sounds a bit of a mixture, as a ten minute filmed composition with an Alice in Wonderland theme which, in the words of its commissioners BID : packages the 24 days of Advent with material showcasing the city's Christmas offer. Highlights include all the major pantomimes, the city's Christmas Market, the new Museum of Liverpool plus adverts for city centre retailers and public information messages from Merseyrail, Merseytravel and Merseyside Police. Wonderland is Liverpool. You, the visitor, can consider yourself Alice, or Alistair. Here's BID's advance precis of the different days' contents, followed by an interesting fact: December 1 St Johns Shopping Centre December 2 Christmas Market - Geraud Liverpool Ltd December 3 Merseyrail December 4 Lifestyle Gyms - Liverpool City Council December 5 Live Smart December 6 Age of The Dinosaurs - World Museums Liverpool December 7 Clayton Square December 8 Curious Garden - City Central BID December 9 Tesco December 10 Enjoy late night shopping safely December 11 Art on the network riddle - Merseytravel December 12 Christmas department - Rapid December 13 St Johns Car Park December 14 Christmas Simulator, Church Street December 15 Snow White - Royal Court Liverpool December 16 Scrooge The Musical – Liverpool Empire Theatre December 17 White Christmas – Liverpool Empire Theatre December 18 Little Scouse on The Prairie - Royal Court Liverpool December 19 Cinderella Rock 'n' Roll Panto - Liverpool Playhouse December 20 New exhibitions - Museum of Liverpool December 21 Alice in Wonderland exhibition -Tate Liverpool December 22 Merseyside Police December 23 Thomas Sabo jewellery – Mococo The interesting fact? Did you know that the biggest store in Mexico City is called... Liverpool ? I have shopped there. Yay!