You do n’t need an Advent calendar to acknowledge thatChristmasis coming , but opening a little numbered room access to reveal a prize is an idea that everyone — religious or not — can get behind . Here ’s a brief story of Advent calendar and a few non - traditional design of this popular tradition .
What Is Advent?
Advent is the four - week period beginning on the Sunday nearest the feast day ofSt . Andrew the Apostle(November 30 ) through the following three Sundays . Historians approximate thatAdvent , which derives from the Latin word forcoming , has been celebrated since the fourth C . Originally , the period was a time for converts to Christianity to set up for baptism , but it ’s now more normally associated with the anticipation of the anniversary of Christ ’s birth on December 25 .
What Is an Advent Calendar?
Advent calendarstypically do n’t watch the full stop of Advent described above . or else , they begin on December 1 and mark the 24 days before Christmas . Today , mostAdvent calendarsinclude paper doors that open to reveal an image , Bible verse , orpiece of coffee . The custom date to the mid-19th century , when German Protestants made chalk marks on doors or dismount candles to numerate the Clarence Shepard Day Jr. leading up to Christmas .
The History of Advent Calendars
Gerhard Lang is widely considered the producer of the first printedAdvent calendarin the former 1900s . Around the same time , a German newspaper admit an Advent calendar insert as a gift to its readers . Lang ’s calendar was inspired by one that his mother had made for him and boast 24 coloured picture show that attached to a patch of composition board . Lang qualify his calendar to include the little doors that are a staple of mostAdvent calendarstoday , and they became a commercial-grade achiever in Germany . Production stopped due to a cardboard dearth during World War II , but resumed shortly after , with Richard Sellmer emerge as the run producer of commercial-grade Advent calendar .
Dwight D. Eisenhoweris often credited for the proliferation of the Advent calendar custom in the United States . During his presidential term , Eisenhower was photograph opening anAdvent calendarwith his grandchildren and the photo ran in several national newspapers .
What to Put In an Advent Calendar
You could go traditional and make each solar day ’s care for a piece of chocolate , a quote , or an image . Or , you could put a modern winding on yourAdvent calendarand follow a specific , pop culture - related theme .
Some institution take their adaptation to the next level . There have been a flock of jaw - droppingAdvent calendarsover the years . One of the most expensive Advent calendars to ever hit the shelves was a 4 - foot , Christmas - tree diagram shaped structure carved from burr elm and walnut wood available through Harrods in 2007 . Each of the $ 50,000 calendar ’s 24 compartments house a piece of organic chocolate from Green & Black , with return choke to suffer chocolate farmers in Belize .
harmonise to Guinness World Records , the world’slargestadvent calendar was build in 2007 at the St. Pancras train station in London . The monumental calendar , which appraise 232 feet and 11 inches grandiloquent , and 75 feet and 5 inches wide , celebrated the reopening of the station following a restoration .
A version of this story earlier ran in 2010 ; it has been update for 2021 .
