Advent calendar

An Advent calendar, from the German word Adventskalender, 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.

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

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 flaps (variously referred to as doors or windows), 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.

Soon after World War II, the longing for an "ideal world" set in, including the Christmas season. By 1945, Advent calendars were once again being produced in all occupation zones. These calendars were primarily based on sweet designs from around 1930. Some publishers, like Erika in Heidenau, reprinted their older works. Today, these calendars can often only be distinguished from the older copies by the poorer quality of the paper and printing after the war. Returning to old originals was ultimately a matter of costs. In addition, some of the designers who had been active before the war continued to work in this field afterwards. Initially, especially tear-off calendars were popular.

The Richard Sellmer publishing house received the license to print advent calendars in December 1945 in Stuttgart, from their American occupiers. The permission to print 50,000 calendars could be covered via paper from the French occupation zone. Richard Sellmer manufactured the stand-up calendar The little town Die kleine Stadt designed by Elisabeth Lörcher. He presented it at the Messe Frankfurt and was looking for US-customers. Even the first calendar was already designed in English and Swedish. The marketing focus on international sales was obvious from the start. Manuals in English and French were already added to the calendars "Alt-Stuttgart" since 1948. US soldiers coming home helped in spreading the calendars which led to Sellmer getting the Major order of 50,000 calendars by an aid organisation for epileptics. After the magazine Newsweek showed a picture of Eisenhower's grandson on an Advent calendar in December 1953, demand rose massively. For 1954 the calendar White House was produced, showing the White House as the central design, surrounded by cowboys, prairie schooners and land yachts. This calendar was also specifically commissioned for the US market, just like the Fairy Tales calendar from the same year. Other producers started following the successful trend as well, and so the calendar Bastelhaus, or Children Workshop respectively, of Ulla Wittkuhn started showing two different designs for the 24th of December: a Christmas tree and Mary with child for the German children, a burning fireplace for the children of the US.