It’s that time of year again. Get your Advent calendar down out of the attic or pick up a new one from the store! 

When I was younger, If I got a Chocolate one... it was gone in like, TWO DAYS! 
This is the one I got this year from my dear Mother! (thanks mom) 
This year I promise I'll wait till each day to open them

But enough about mine! How did this tradition all start? 

This is the calendar my Mother gave me this year!

Preparing for the coming of Christmas has been a seasonal pastime since children first discovered presents under the tree. Even most adults anticipate the big day.
The giddy excitement doesn’t have to be reserved for just the kids!

In the 19th century, the tradition of marking the days until Christmas with chalk or lighting candles was a common practice.

The first printed Advent calendar originated in Germany in the early 20th century (either 1902 or 1908) with Gerhard Lang. When Gerhard was a little boy his mother made him a calendar with 24 small candies attached to cardboard, one for each day before Christmas.

Adventskalender im Wandel der Zeit, (Richard Ernst Kepler)

Calendars filled with chocolate began to appear from the late 1950s around the time that they also began to spread around the world

Paper calendars are still popular, but versions created from an endless variety of materials such as fabric or wood are also widely available. Always offering a surprise behind the door or in a pouch pocket like a piece of candy, a decoration, or a Bible verse.

Where do you get yours? Is it homemade? Post your pictures on our Facebook Page!

~Logan