History of Advent Calendars

Posted by Amy on 22nd Sep 2021

History of Advent Calendars

Advent calendars have charmed children for generations, with their rich and detailed imagery that captures the imagination.

In the Christian tradition, the season of Advent (or ‘coming’ in Latin) begins four Sundays before Christmas Day, which can be anywhere from 27 November – 3 December.

To simplify the count-down, most calendars start on December 1.

While there are references to count-down traditions existing in families in the 1800s, including the marking of doors with a line of chalk for each day, the modern printed advent calendars have their origin with the publication of a paper calendar in 1908 by Gerhard Lang in Germany, who as a child had received 24 little sweets for each day in December.

By the 1930s, several German publishers were producing advent calendars, and after paper shortages ended following World War II, they grew further in popularity and eventually expanded overseas by the 1950s.

Chocolate advent calendars started to appear in the 1950s, with Cadbury launching its own version in the UK in 1971.

Here at Advent Wonderland, we hope you enjoy the beautiful advent calendars that we have sought from around the world.

Please let us know what are your most preferred types of calendars!