RESIDENTS in an East Yorkshire village are celebrating Christmas with their own take on a Swiss Advent tradition.

Shiptonthorpe’s “living Advent calendar,” now in its sixth year, sees villagers deck out windows in their homes with decorative displays which are illuminated, in turn, throughout December, something common in Switzerland.

Tracey Baty, who lives in Shiptonthorpe, said: “My husband and I suggested the living advent calendar when we moved into the village, as it was something we had done where we used to live in Hull.”

The first windows were lit up on December 1, and each day more are added until all the displays are lit on Christmas Eve.

The lights will remain on from dusk until 10pm every day. Organiser Janet Miller said: “This year, almost a quarter of the houses in the village will be participating in the Advent windows, so it promises to be a spectacular event.”

On December 30, people are invited for a specially arranged tour of the village to view the displays in their full glory before they are taken down for another year.

Donations will fund the fitting out of the new extension to Shiptonthorpe’s village hall.