Gone are the days where we bought a flimsy piece of cardboard with perforated squares and cheap chocolate hidden behind the flaps.
The Advent calendar has taken on whole new meaning and has become expensive and over the top,another competitive commercial product. After all if we have the choice of Lindt chocolate squares or cheap chocolate we would much rather have the indulgent moment.Calendars have anything from beauty products, craft beers to toys inside.
Still, the very notion of advent is about as traditional as you can get, even if you’re counting down the days with chocolate rather than religious observance. Advent in Latin is a word for ‘coming’, Advent is the season in the church’s calendar during which Christians prepare to celebrate the Nativity – the “ coming “ of Jesus as told in the Gospels – and anticipate his return to earth one day.
Whether you fancy ushering in a bit of festive reflection and tradition during Advent or just want to let your kids fill their faces with chocolate each morning, there’s an Advent calendar to suit every taste and budget.
From sweets and trinkets to home-made calendars that you can fill with slips of paper bearing festive family challenges.
The tradition began in the mid 19th century when German Protestants made chalk marks on doors or lit candles to count the days leading up to Christmas.The first printed calendars where believed to have been made by Gerhard Lang in the early 1900’s. The World Wars stopped this tradition as cardboard became rationed but it restarted in 1946 and as early as 1958 there were chocolate filledAdvent calendars for sale.
The questions is , how many days should reflect on an Advent calendar ? some traditional calendars show 24 days but many Advent calendars show 25 days, with the last one opening on Christmas day. The church year begins on 1 September in many Eastern Christian churches, so Advent begins as a different time to when it starts in the Western Churches.
Another question is does one count up or count down on the calendar? Then point of a calendar is to count upwards towards the days before Christmas. If you were using candles you want to end up with 24 lit candles the day before Christmas and not one.
There are so many choices now when it come stop selecting a calendar, one of the favourites for children is the LEGO advent calendar. They are a collection of seasonal sets which are released annually some time before Christmas. They belong to different themes of LEGO.
Advent calendars aren’t all about chocolate and commercialism – choose carefully, and you’ll find the whole family looks forward to seeing what’s behind each day’s little door.
