History of the Advent Calendar
The Advent Calendar, sometimes known as a Festive Calendar, is a device used to count down the days to Christmas. The German Lutheran tradition of a special calendar to celebrate the Christian season of Advent (the countdown to the celebration of the coming of Christ) goes back to the early nineteenth century, but the more modern concept of a printed or constructed calendar, with windows that open to reveal pictures, gifts or sweets, appears to date from around 1850. These calendars were traditionally constructed from cardboard (with opening doors that revealed religious images), cloth (with bags containing gifts) or wooden boxes.
Modern Advent Calendars usually start on 1 December and count down for twenty four days to Christmas Eve (even though the traditional Christian season of Advent starts on the fourth Sunday before Christmas, which can be any time between 27 November and 3 December). Nowadays millions of Advent Calendars are produced all over the world as children’s toys, and many are secular in nature, yielding sweets or other gifts with no religious content. Most of the major merchandisers produce their own branded Festive Calendars that can be in the shape of trees, houses or even dinosaurs, and sometimes extend to 26 days to include Christmas and Boxing Day.