Winnipeg choir sharing virtual Advent calendar Written by CHVN Thursday, Dec 10 2020, 2:51 PM Canzona performing Bach's Christmas Oratorio at Westminster United Church in December 2018 with the Pacific Baroque Orchestra Article continues below advertisement ↴ Winnipeg’s baroque chamber choir Canzona is gifting a series of holiday performances with a virtual Advent calendar. From the Latin for "coming" or "arrival", Advent is a time of preparation for Christmas. "Musically speaking, [Advent] is so rich in terms of what composers have written over the centuries for this time of year," said Canzona's Artistic Director Kathleen Allan. Many may be familiar with the practice of using an Advent calendar to count the days until Christmas. Decorated with depictions of the nativity, winter scenes or other, less traditional images, the numbered days often feature a small door with chocolate hidden behind it. For Allan, it was the childhood excitement of that treat she best remembered. "I can’t say that it was always with the most spiritual intentions, I was pretty focused on opening that little door and getting that chocolate," she said. "It was all I could do to not eat them at once.”