i remember when we were younger, my mum used to buy advent calendars. and every day throughout december we all took turns opening the little windows and discovering something inside, all the while getting more excited because one less window meant one less day until christmas...

i have my own advent calendar in leuven. on the first of december i left my house and wandered down through the main square. to my surprise, a large pine tree stood alongside the town hall... a large pine tree that i had never encountered before. and on the opposite side of the square, outside the very big cathedral of st paul, was what seemed to be the beginnings of a stable.

each day i take the time to walk past the square, and each day i discover new things are appearing. the stable no longer seems out of place in the cobbled courtyard, but is surrounded by a fence and plants and gives an impression of always having belonged there. lights now cover the facing pine tree. in fact, more christmas trees in general have appeared - not just in the square, but everywhere; against every street sign and every shop window. and i had never really noticed all the deciduous trees lining the streets, but now they are all lit up. i feel like leuven is turning into some kind of magical forest, complete with a suspended sky of lights, hanging roof top to roof.

but it's not occuring all at once - and that's special for me, because it means each day, just as i did with the advent calendar, i can be surprised and excited by the images and impressions being created in this city as the time for christmas closes in.