A Christmas calendar ( da, julekalender, sv, julkalender, no, julekalender, fi, joulukalenteri, is, jóladagatal, fo, jólakalendari), is a form of Nordic episodic radio or television

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 b ...

focused on Christmas. It was first introduced in 1957, in Sweden, with the radio series, ''

Barnens adventskalender ''Barnens adventskalender'' (''The Children's Advent Calendar''), broadcast at 7:55 each morning between 1 and 24 December 1957, was the first in what was to become an annual series of children's Yuletide programmes – '' Sveriges Radios julkalend ...

''. Each series consists of 24 episodes which air daily beginning on the first of December, and ending on

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipation ...

. The first Christmas calendar was the Swedish ''

Titteliture ''Titteliture'' was the Sveriges Television's Christmas calendar and Sveriges Radio's Christmas Calendar in 1960. The radio version was called ''Barnens adventskalender'' (''"The Children's Christmas Calendar"''). Plot Every time, except for W ...

''. The first such series aired in Denmark was '' Historier fra hele verden'' in 1962. The form gradually extended into the other Nordic countries of Norway, Finland and Iceland, and in the 21st century also extended into Germany. Most Christmas calendars are produced for children, while some cater to both children and adults, and even some are directed at adults alone. Many ''Christmas calendar'' series, such as the 1979 Norwegian

Jul i Skomakergata ''Jul i Skomakergata'' is a Norwegian TV-show for children, produced in 1979. It is a televised advent calendar, meaning it is broadcast from December 1 to December 24. It has been broadcast several times in Norway by NRK. The story revolves around ...

, and the 1990 Icelandic

Á baðkari til Betlehem ''Á baðkari til Betlehem'' (English: ''On A Bathtub To Bethlehem'') is an Icelandic television series that first aired on Icelandic public television channel Sjónvarpið in December 1990. The show was the second televised advent calendar produc ...

have become classics in their respective countries, and are enjoyed both by children and adults (if purely for nostalgic reasons). Christmas calendars very often feature "''tomter''" or "''nisser''", and occasionally a

Santa Claus Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring ...

figure.

References

{{Christmas calendars Nordic Christmas traditions Advent Christmas television series

See also

References