Advent Calendar

An Advent calendar is used to count the days of Advent in anticipation of Christmas. Since the date of the First Sunday of Advent varies, falling between November 27 and December 3 inclusive, many reusable Advent calendars made of paper or wood begin on December 1; others start from the First Sunday of Advent and thus include the last few days of November that begin the liturgical season of Advent.

The Advent calendar was first used by German Lutherans in the 19th and 20th centuries, and has since then spread to other Christian denominations.

Design and use

Traditional Advent calendars feature the manger scene, Saint Nicholas and winter weather, while others range in theme, from sports to technology. They come in a multitude of forms, from a simple paper calendar with flaps covering each of the days to fabric pockets on a background scene to painted wooden boxes with cubby holes for small items.

Many Advent calendars take the form of a large rectangular card with "Doors", one for each day of December leading up to and including Christmas Eve (December 24) or Christmas Day (December 25). Consecutive doors are opened every day leading up to Christmas, beginning on the start of the Advent season for that year, or simply on December 1, as is the case of reusable Advent calendars. Often the doors are distributed across the calendar in no particular order. The calendar doors open to reveal an image, a poem, a portion of a story (such as the story of the Nativity of Jesus), or a small gift, such as a toy or a chocolate item. Often, each door has a Bible verse and Christian prayer printed on it, which Christians incorporate as part of their daily Advent devotions.

There are many variations of Advent calendars; some European villages create advent calendars on buildings or even so-called "living" Advent calendars, where different windows are decorated for each day of Advent.

The Nordic Julekalender/Julkalender

In Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, there is also a tradition of having a ''Julekalender'' (Swedish: ''Julkalender'', Finnish: ''Joulukalenteri'', Icelandic: ''Jóladagatal''; the local word for a Yule—or Christmas—calendar) in the form of a television or radio show, starting on December 1 and ending on Christmas Eve (December 24).

Such a show first aired on radio in 1957 in the form of the Swedish radio series ''Barnens adventskalender''; the first televised show of the genre aired in 1960 in the form of the Swedish program ''Titteliture''. The first ''julekalender'' aired in Denmark was ''Historier fra hele verden'' in 1962. The televised ''julkalender'' or ''julekalendar'' has now extended into the other Nordic countries; in Finland, for example, the show is called ''Joulukalenteri''.

Over the years, there have been several kinds of ''julekalender''; some are directed at children, some at both children and adults, and some directed at adults alone. There is a ''Julkalender'' radio show in Sweden, which airs in the days leading up to Christmas. A classic example of a ''julekalender'' enjoyed by children (as well as adults, if purely for nostalgic reasons) is the 1979 Norwegian television show ''Jul i Skomakergata''; another is the 1990 Icelandic television show ''Á baðkari til Betlehem''.

Image gallery

File:Richard Ernst Kepler - Im Lande des Christkinds.jpg, Advent calendar from ''Im Lande des Christkinds''. The doors contain Christmas poems. Images, from a cut-out sheet, were pasted over them.
File:Marianne Schneegans Adventskalender.jpeg, A 1946 Advent calendar by Marianne Schneegans
File:Schloss Hellbrunn zur Adventszeit.jpg, The 24 windows of the front of Hellbrunn Palace in Salzburg, Austria, used as an Advent calendar during the town's Christmas market
File:Adventkalender andrea.JPG, A home-made Advent calendar featuring presents
File:2014-12 12 Adventskalender St. Elisabeth (Essen-Frohnhausen).jpg, An Advent calendar consisting of images that have dates on the inverse side
File:Jul cal2.jpg, A Norwegian Advent calendar
File:Adventskalender im Bau.jpg, A home-made Advent calendar made from wood in the shape of a Christmas tree
File:Adventskalender am Rathaus. Stollberg. IMG 0831WI.jpg, Advent Calendar at the City Hall in Stollberg, Saxony
File:A few hours too early (4267111411).jpg, Two girls try to open the first door of an Advent calendar at the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin.
File:Adventskalender.JPG, "Living" Advent calendar
File:Adventkalender AR.jpg, Advent calendar with presents as flaps, randomly arranged
File:Julkalender - 2021.jpg, Stand-up Advent calendar by Carlsen Verlag, 1959
File:Diciembre.jpg, An Advent calendar featuring Santa Claus riding his sleigh

See also

* Advent candle
* Advent wreath
* Christingle
* Lenten calendar

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Advent Calendar
Christmas in Germany
German inventions
Calendar
History of Lutheranism
Chocolate
Calendars