What Is the Story Behind Advent Calendars?
Advent calendars began in Germany as a way to help children count the days to Christmas. Families marked the days with chalk lines or lit candles, and in 1908 Gerhard Lang, a German printer, published one of the first commercial printed Advent calendars, inspired by a calendar his mother had made him. Calendars with little doors and, later, chocolate followed, and the custom spread to the United States after the Second World War.
What is the meaning of an Advent calendar?
Advent is the season of waiting and preparation before Christmas in the Christian calendar. An Advent calendar turns that waiting into something a child can see: one door, pocket or picture for each day, so the days to Christmas visibly shrink. Most calendars today run from December 1 to December 24, with some adding a 25th day.
The history of the Advent calendar
Chalk marks and candles
Before printed calendars, families made their own. According to Byers’ Choice, many families drew lines in chalk on the kitchen wall or set out an “Advent clock”, a wreath holding 24 candles, to count the days.
Gerhard Lang’s printed calendar
Aleteia reports that in 1908 Gerhard Lang, who worked in a printing office, based his idea on a childhood memory: his mother had made him an Advent calendar by attaching 24 little candies to a piece of cardboard. Historians generally credit Lang with producing the first printed Advent calendar. His version let children add a colored picture to the scene each day, and calendars with little doors that opened became popular in Germany soon after.
War, and the little town calendar
Byers’ Choice says production stopped during the Second World War, when cardboard was rationed and printing calendars with pictures was forbidden in Germany. After the war, the publisher Richard Sellmer printed a calendar showing a little town street whose doors and windows opened onto Christmas scenes. A newspaper photograph of President Eisenhower’s grandchildren gathered around that calendar helped make Advent calendars popular in the United States.
Chocolate
According to Aleteia, by the 1950s calendars held a chocolate for each day of December, and the tradition spread through Europe and the United States. Today you can find calendars filled with almost anything, and reusable fabric or wooden calendars that families fill themselves each year.
Why do Advent calendars start on December 1?
The season of Advent begins on a Sunday, four Sundays before Christmas, so its first day changes every year. In 2026 the first Sunday of Advent is November 29, according to Hallow. Aleteia explains that calendars start on December 1 instead so they can be reused from year to year, and that habit stuck.
Is an Advent calendar religious?
It began as a Christian custom, and Advent itself is a Christian season. Many calendars still carry Bible verses, nativity scenes or a daily prayer, and many churches use Advent wreaths with candles. But a lot of today’s calendars are not religious at all, and plenty of families use them simply as a December countdown.
Is the Advent calendar Catholic?
Not specifically. Advent is observed by Catholics, Lutherans, Anglicans and many other Christian churches. Anyone can use an Advent calendar, whatever their church.
Is an Advent calendar only for Christmas?
The traditional Advent calendar is a countdown to Christmas. The same countdown idea is now used for other things, such as a countdown to a birthday, a wedding or a trip, but those are not Advent calendars in the original sense.
Why is there a 12-day Advent calendar?
Twelve-day calendars are a shorter, smaller version of the idea, common for treats and beauty products. They are not tied to the twelve days of Christmas, which run after Christmas Day. They simply cover the last stretch before December 25.
Quick answers
- Who invented the Advent calendar? Gerhard Lang is generally credited with the first printed one, in 1908, in Germany.
- When does Advent start in 2026? Sunday, November 29. Most calendars start on December 1.
- Is it religious? It began as a Christian custom, but many calendars today are not religious.
- When did chocolate calendars start? By the 1950s.
From the shop
If you would like a calendar to fill yourself each year, the personalized reindeer Advent calendar is a 25-pocket wall hanging with a name. Our guides to choosing a personalized Advent calendar and what to put in one help with the rest.