the ADVENT CALENDAR

Whether you prefer to reveal a traditional biblical scene or a chocolate treat each day for 24 days in December, the tradition of counting down to Christmas Day in this manner dates back to 19th-century Germany.

Advent is Latin for ‘arrival’ and has for centuries been a time of preparation as Christians await the day of Jesus’ birth. In the 1800s, German Protestant families would mark o! the days by lighting candles and drawing on their doors with chalk. In the early 20th century, the "rst printed advent calendars appeared and, by the 1920s, they featured li#le doors with an image behind. The popularity of the advent calendar spread across the globe but it wasn’t until a$er the Second World War that it became a staple of the season. They really took o! a$er US President Eisenhower was photographed opening an advent calendar with his grandchildren in 1953, while in 1958 the "rst advent calendar with chocolates behind its doors was produced.

The popularity of the advent calendar spread across the globe, but it wasn’t until a er the Second World War that it became a staple of the Christmas season.