Diving into our childhood, most of us will remember the Christmas, or better said, Advent Calendars. We all couldn’t wait till we are aloud to open the next door.
The first of December, you can start to open the first door on your Advent Calendar. Usually you open the last one, door 24, on Christmas Eve, some calendars have a door 25, which you then open on Christmas day.

  Modern „homemade“ Advent Calender.

History of the Advents Calendar.

Much information is to be found on the internet, and several books have been published on this subject, I like to give here only a short history of the Advent calendar.
The Advent (from the Latin word Adventus meaning “coming”) is the period before Christmas, observed in many Western Christian churches.

  Advent Calender display in St. Petri’s church Luebeck, Germany.

In this period Christians prepare for Christmas and the birth of Jesus. The liturgical year always begins on the Sunday that falls between November 27 and December 3, and ends on December 24. The advent period comprises approximately four weeks and always has 4 Sundays, while the total number of weekdays range from 22 to 27.

  The Rathaus in Huenfeld, Germany as a calendar.

The tradition of advent calendars can be traced back to the 19th century. One of the early practices was to put a chalk mark on a door for each day in December till Christmas Eve. The first known Advent Calendar which was made by handwork is from the year 1851. Another was to light a candle every day, either on an Advent wreath or a chandelier.

  A „julekalender“, Advent Calender from Sweden.

It seems that the first advent wreath has been invented by the Lutheran theologist, Johann Hinrich Wichern, 1808-1881, (see my post about the Advent Wreath, November 2014) . In 1839 he used a wooden wheel with four large and nineteen small candles. During Advent, for each Sunday a large candle was lit, and for every other day a small one. Children could see how many more days till Christmas.

  The Rathaus in Hattingen, Germany. 17 doors are open.

Another relates the “Advent tree”, originating around the mid-19th century; at the start of the Advent period a conifer would be placed in the home and every day a prophecy of the Old Testament would be recited before putting a candle, together with a paper star on which the recited text was written. Around 1880 printed prophecies became available.

  Fancy wooden Christmas tree.

Other early styles were the Adventclock or the Adventcandle – a candle for each of the 24 days until Christmas, like todays Advent wreath. So in religious families little pictures were hung up on the wall – one for each day in December. An other tradition was to paint chalk strokes on the door, one per day until Christmas Eve.

Modern German advertising calendar. Click on pics to supersize.

The very first Advent Calendar.

In 1902 a Christian Bookshop in Hamburg published such a Advent-Christmas Clock. The Austrian Landesmuseum Niederoestereich (country museum Lower Austria) mentions the year 1903 as the year of the first printed Advent Calendar. In 1904 an Advent Calendar was inserted in the newspaper „Neues Tagblatt Stuttgart“ as a gift for their readers.

    One of the „oldest“. Christmas Calendar from 1903.

In contrast to the above, Dr. Esther Gajek (University Regensburg, Germany) says that the first printed specimen was made in 1908 by a Swabian parishioner son, Gerhard Lang (born 1881 in Maulbronn, Germany – died in 1974).

  Gerhard Lang, known as the inventor of the modern Advent Calendar.

When he was a child his mother made him an Advent Calendar with 24 „Wibbele“ (little candies) which were stuck on a cardboard. Later Lang was a participator of the printing office Reichhold & Lang. He produced little colored pictures which could be affixed on a cardboard at every day in December. This was the first printed Advent Calendar, although without windows to open, published in 1908.

   A former creation of a glitter template. Handwork throughout !

This Calendar in 1908 was named „Christmas-Calendar“ or „Munich Christmas-Calendar“. At the beginning of the 20th century Lang produced the first Advent Calendars with little doors to open. At this time as well the Sankt Johannis Printing Company started producing religious Advent Calendars, Bible Verses instead of pictures behind the doors.

  Panoramic advent calendar “Kleine Stadt im Mondschein” (Small Town in Moonlight). This version was published by Sellmer verlag in 1954.

The Advent Calendar`s popularity started to spread round the globe. But Lang had to close his company in the thirties. Until that time he had produced about 30 different designs.
The World War II terminated the success of this German tradition. The cardboard was rationed and it was forbidden to produce Calendars with pictures. The first printed specimen after the war were printed by Richard Sellmer in 1946. This was the Advent Calendar „The Little Town“, it was the first Advent Calendar available in the United States.

    Click on pic. Eisenhower calendar „The Little Town“.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Family.

The Eisenhower Family promoted this Advent Calendar (See newspaper article below. The article is from Newsweek Magazine).

  The Newsweek article about „the Eisenhower Advent Calendar“.

The first Advent calendars were based on 24 days with Christmas Eve as the last night to either put up a picture or take a candy. Today, the traditional German calendars still show 24 days, but in the United States, it’s not uncommon to also find ones with 25 days — the last opening to occur on Christmas Day. Advent Calendars filled with Chocolate were already available in 1958.

  Three Eisenhower generations. Grand kids with their „German Calender“.

Advent Calendars can be found everywhere Christmas is celebrated and have been made with many different themes. There are permanent ones with little drawers that are opened every day, felt pieces to decorate a tree, religious icons behind the different doors and lots of pop-culture/character Advent calendars. The traditional ones are still a cardboard or paper/plastic piece with a small treasure behind the doors.

  Lavish homemade Advent-Gift Calendar.

The treasures can range from a beautiful miniature religious picture, perhaps a little wooden toy or even a piece of candy. Sure to cause problems when there is more than one child in the household. Or one is able to have a calendar each for every child. That is today’s fashion, because of the little gifts behind the doors. Former calendars were „family calendars“, surprises for everyone.

  Advent Calendar with 25 doors, from Jerusalem.

Enjoy the following examples of a very fine Advent Calendar Collection.
Some real rarities from a former authors collection.

Santa with children and animals, 1935.

  Maria and the Christchild, shown in the book “Weihnachtszeit” from the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum in München.

Printed in US Zone Germany, end 1940’s.

        
Calendar showing a church with 5 unnumbered doors. Printed in Germany in the 1920’s.

  Part of the panorama book “Een boek voor de Kersttijd”
(A book for Christmas Time), a Dutch version of Tasha Tudor’s 1979 edition.

Pop-up advent calendar with on the front and the back Santa in a chimney, printed on „COPENHAGEN CARLSEN VERLAG GMBH HAMBURG, MADE IN DENMARK”, mid 1960’s.

    Advent calendar described as “Im Weihnachtsland”, meaning “In Christmas Country”. There are clouds with children and angels and with Santa Claus on a cloud top right, all above a city from which a ladder leads to the Christmas Land. On the back is stamped “Made in Austria”, late 1940’s.

     Advent calendar described as “Regenbogenrutsche” (rainbow slide). The illustration, by  artist Kurt Brandes (1905-1977), is very similar to the previous advent calendar. Angels and Santa on clouds with the rainbow going down into a town at night, 1957.

  This calendar shows an idyllic old town at night and, on the right, Santa going over the bridge. Enhanced with glitter, now turned dark grey. Below, in the corner left there is a designer’s signature “Kaiser”, with in the margin “Made in Germany US Zone”, 1954.

          
Advent calendar “Haus im Mondschein” (House in Moonlight). In a DVD of the exhibition in the Museum Voswinckelshof, Germany it is called “Engel auf den Dach” (Angel on the roof) dated 1935. It is a house with angels and windows, numbered from 1 thru 23, and the center door is number 24. The right is showing pics behind the windows.

   Advent Calendar of angels going up a ladder to heaven, in Germany called „Himmelstore“ or „Himmelsleiter“ (heaven gates or the sky ladder), printed in the 1930’s.

  An Advent Calendar from Switzerland, 1937.

  And this calendar from Austria, 1940’s.

Two Disney Advent Calendars, left from 1961 and right from 1973.

   This one was printed in 1954 as “Hall Brothers” became “Hallmark”.

Printed on reverse :
“The Story of the First Christmas
Do you wish you’d been in Bethlehem
When Christ, our Lord was born?
Or that you’d been a wise man
Bearing gifts on Christmas morn?
Well, perhaps you can imagine,
As you see this map each day,
That you’ve really seen the manger
Where the baby Jesus lay!”.

  Advent calendar “Advents-Paradies Zentrum Aarau”, doors from 1 thru 24, design by the Swiss cartoonist Jürg Furrer (born 1939),  signed below right, and published in 1989.

And here are the ugliest four calendar examples I have found.
It’s all a matter of personal taste – of course. No further comment.

We could go on and on with wonderful pics of an unusual collectors theme, but it would go beyond the scope here. And modern types, as shown above are not in my interest. The older ones had some kind of craftsmanship, a sense of the Holy Time during Advent and Christmas and often designs from famous artists. Today – cheap computer prints. It’s so good, that collectors try to preserve fashion, lifestyle and history. Many more posts are coming, stay tuned and enjoy !!