THE Archbishop of York has launched a special online Advent calendar today to celebrate the countdown to Christmas.

Dr John Sentamu is posting a message on his website each day until December 24, to mark the traditional Christian countdown.

He said the messages will include daily reflections allowing people to follow the Archbishop's personal journey towards Christmas following the success of his 2010 online Advent calendar.

Dr Sentamu said: "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 begin on my website today and 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.”

The Archbishop’s reflection for today includes thoughts about how God came into the world through Jesus.

He also refers to an appeal he is supporting to build a new Community Centre for the deaf in Cairo, Egypt.

Visit www.archbishopofyork.org/pages/advent-calendar-2011.html to see the calendar.