Advent Calendar History and Tradition
Advent calendars were first used in the 19th century by protestants in Germany who simply made chalk lines on a door or other surface to count down the days until Christmas.
The first printed advent calendar was made by Gerhard Lang in Germany in 1908. His mother made him a simple advent calendar when he was a child to count down the days until Christmas. She put 24 small pieces of candy on a piece of cardboard. Each day Gerhard would take a piece of candy. The first calendar he produced did not have windows. It had colored pictures attached to a piece of cardboard for each day of advent. Later, little doors were added to open each day for a religious picture or verse or a piece of candy.
The german advent calendars were not produced during World War II because of rationing of cardboard. In 1946. Richard Sellmer started producing the advent calendars again in Germany. He had to receive a printing license from the U.S. Military and the paper he used had to be purchased in the U.S. military zone. These calendars were made by hand in those days. The advent calendars started selling in the United States in 1950 and became very popular.
Sellmer’s first advent calendar was called “The Little Town”. The calendar had pictures of many buildings in the town and you would open the windows and the doors to find nice things underneath for each day of advent. They also produced a very popular lamp shade advent calendar that would fit any lamp and would revolve under heat with 24 windows to open. A Carols Calendar was created with a carol for each day of advent. In 1954 they produced the White House calendar with the scenery of the White House in Washington. They then produced many varieties of pull out advent calendars.
Today, the most typical advent calendar is printed on cardboard with twenty four small doors. These calendars have many themes from religious ones with Mary and Joseph traveling to the stable, nativity scenes, church scenes, Bethlehem, winter wonderland and many more. A Santa stocking advent calendar offers a different idea. The stocking has a picture of a Christmas tree on it and you hang an ornament on the tree on each day of Advent. Fontanini makes a magnetic advent calendar that can be put on the refrigerator. Different figures from the nativity scene are placed on the refrigerator each day. There is even a garden lovers advent calendar collages with a beautiful painting of a flower in each window.
Celebrating advent with an advent calendar is a wonderful way to prepare for Christmas with children. The tradition of advent calendars and advent wreaths combine to add more meaning to Christmas for families everywhere.
Lynn Jebbia is the owner of Acadia Wreath Company. Acadia Wreath Company, based in Bar Harbor, Maine, handcrafts fresh Maine balsam fir Christmas wreaths, Christmas Centerpieces and Kissing Balls which are shipped directly to customers and corporate clients throughout the United States.