What does Advent mean to you? If you're a practicing Christian, Advent is defined as the fourth Sunday before Christmas, and signals the start of a month-long period in which we spiritually prepare ourselves to celebrate the birth of Jesus. If you see yourself as being more towards the secular side of things, Advent is about chocolate-filled calendars, shopping for gifts, and party planning. If you're a longtime member of the WorldTempus family, you know that Advent means the return of our annual festive giveaway!
Every day from December 1–24, you can take part in the WorldTempus Advent Calendar Competition by answering the question of the day. At the end of this time, the competition is closed, and you get entered in the prize draw each time you've answered a question correctly. This means, of course, that the more questions you attempt, and the more questions you get correct, the more chances you have to win something.
"Not fair, Suzanne!" I hear some of our newer readers clamour. "I've only just started getting interested in watches and watchmaking — how do you guys expect me to suddenly become some kind of horological encyclopaedia? This competition is rigged in favour of hardcore watch nerds! BOOOO! BOYCOTT!"
Not to worry, gentle reader! We know the WorldTempus family has lots of new members — we welcome about 100,000 more of you per month compared to last year, if we're talking numbers. We're thinking of you too! That's why we've provided hints in each daily question, in the form of three article links. The answer to the day's question can be found in one of those accompanying article links (I mean, not the link URLs themselves, of course; you do have to look through the linked articles to find the answer). This way, we have a level playing field and each one of you has as good a chance to win as anyone else. Does that sound fair enough?
Now, on to the real information. The prizes include jewellery pieces from Bucherer, fine watches from Baume & Mercier, Alpina, a handcrafted music box from Reuge and a limited-edition writing instrument from Caran d'Ache. And while they might arrive on your doorstep a little too late for Christmas, I can't imagine anything more cheerful or heartwarming than receiving a belated gift in the post on a bleak January day.
What are you waiting for? The first question was posted last Thursday, so there are already four questions available for you to have a swing at. (Yes, we post questions on weekends too, so how's that for audience devotion? We really are like Santa's little elves, going at it overtime to bring you as much fun and joy over the festive season as possible.) And it bears mentioning again that all the questions will remain open until midnight (UTC+1) on December 24, so even if you start now, it's not too late!
Don't forget to bookmark our competition page if you want to access the daily questions as quickly and easily as possible — it also helps you keep track of which questions you've answered and which ones you may have missed. Think of it as a holiday quiz, competing among your other WorldTempus family members. And anyone out there with a tradition of festive family games will be able to assure you — the heat can get pretty fierce in these kinds of domestic competitive events! What's more nostalgic than getting into a Christmas Eve wrestling match with your brother over a Monopoly dispute? He cheated by blatantly stealing from the bank! (So did you, but at least you respected everyone's feelings by being discreet about it.) Ah, the good old days!
Happy quizzing!
