Advent Calendars in Germany
This year, Martin and I are spending our first Christmas in Germany, and we all know that it can’t truly be an official German Christmas without having one of these today:
It’s our Advent Calendar!
Entire window displays and sections of many stores in Berlin are dedicated just to selling Advent calendars. You would never guess how popular Advent calendars are. The most popular ones seem to be made entirely of paper like ours.
Our calendar has a piece of organic chocolate behind each number (albeit they’re very small pieces since we’ve got a whole 24 days of them). But get this – it cost less than 2 euros! (or $3)
Advent calendars originally came from the German Lutherans in the beginning of the 19th century. People began counting down the 24 days of Advent by drawing a chalk line on their door each day from December 1st until Christmas. Some families hung little religious pictures on their walls or lit new candles… which may be the initial Advent wreaths (that Advent celebration began on Sunday when the first of four candles were lit).
The first Advent calendars ever printed were made in Hamburg, Germany in 1902 or 1903.
All I know is that there’s going to be some steep competition tonight when it’s time to fish the first chocolate morsel out of our advent calendar.
Are any of you celebrating Advent with an Advent calendar? How about a wreath? Or perhaps you have a memory of these traditions from when you were younger?
December 1st, 2009 at 6:56 am
I always loved these a a child in Germany. My mom used to mail them back to the US for my cousins, too. Such a sweet memory for me. Between these advent calendars and Kinder Eggs, the lack of surprises in American chocolate was almost boring to come home to in the US. Thanks for sharing these, Katie!
December 1st, 2009 at 7:46 am
Mr. Savvy and I don’t celebrate advent, but Mr. Savvy’s mom does. Last year, I made her an advent wreath by decorating 24 small boxes with Christmasy paper things and stickers and paint, then gluing them to a cardboard wreath round and adding sprigs of greenery here and there. She loved it. We’re going to fill it with chocolates for her this year.
December 1st, 2009 at 8:24 am
Let’s hear it for German Lutherans! LOL. Yes, we great up with a handmade Advent calendar that my mom made from felt, stitching, and a lot of sequins… it must have been so labor-intensive! Each day had a different little felt ornament that was hung on the felt tree background. My sister and I took turns each day. We (meaning my husband and I) also have an advent calendar, one that my aunt made from a kit. I need to go dig it out today! Oh, and growing up we also had the chocolate ones, one for each of us (me and my sister). :)
December 1st, 2009 at 8:27 am
Hey! I’m an American living in Germany and we just hung our advent calendars today too!
Come over to my blog and have a peek if you’d like :)
http://www.stephanielevy.blogspot.com
I’m doing an entire month on holiday traditions in Germany and around the world!
December 1st, 2009 at 9:34 am
I have fond memories of Advent as a child, singing German Christmas songs around the Advent wreath on Sundays and eating yummy homemade cookies. My brothers and I shared an Advent calendar. I hate to admit this, but as the oldest I figured out that if I let my brothers open the first 2 windows I would wind up with the bigger piece of chocolate on the 24th. My favorite holiday was Nickolaus Day, we’d polish our shoes in the hallway of our apartment building, leave them out there and in the morning they’d be full of goodies!
December 1st, 2009 at 9:59 am
Since half of my childhood was spent growing up in Germany……we always had the tradition of the advent calendar and singing around the lit advent wreath each evening! Those were my best Christmas memories growing up!
Thanks for inspiring me with your article today! Even though it’s just my husband and myself…..as our kids are now grown up…..I think I’ll go out and look for an advent calendar to buy and keep those wonderful German traditions going this Christmas!!!!
December 1st, 2009 at 11:14 am
My son received an Advent calendar similar to yours from his friend’s grandmother who was visiting from Germany. Also, we have a cloth calendar that I’ve used for years. There are 25 pockets and in each pocket is a figure that is velcroed on to a picture and when the picture is complete, it’s Christmas. We also have an Advent wreath. And we celebrate St. Nicholas day on Dec. 6 by putting candy in the kids’ shoes and eating a special meal. Since I have small children, I need all the help I can get to teach them about waiting for Christmas. Sometimes the excitement is too much!
December 1st, 2009 at 11:44 am
We have advent wreaths in the states but you usually only see these in the lutheran churches. However, this year I did find an advent calendar very similar to yours in the Amana Colonies in Iowa, so my kids were able to open the first box today (and had to share the chocolate as we were remiss and only bought 1 calendar!)
December 1st, 2009 at 3:24 pm
My German grandmother always had an advent calendar but it made us kids crazy that we couldn’t just eat the chocolate right then. :)
With my boys, we’re going to start a tradition of advent books. We have been buying Christmas children’s books on clearance the last two years and now we’ll read a new book every night from Dec. 1 until Christmas Eve. Tonight it’s “The Berenstain Bears Trim the Tree”.
December 1st, 2009 at 6:51 pm
We have 3 (!!) different Advent calendar sets – the good ol’ chocolate ones for the kids, a felt Christmas tree with ornaments for each day of the month, and a Playmobil winter woodland scene. We put them all up this afternoon, and the excitement is high! :)
December 2nd, 2009 at 7:42 am
Indy has always had an advent calendar. This year he really, really, REALLY, want the Playmobil Knight advent calendar, but I told him it was too expensive (about $20), so he thought and thought and thought and finally decided to use some of his own money to buy it. He opened the first door last night and got a little knight. Today he got a piece of armor. Tomorrow, a sword, and so on. It’s an exercise in patience.
December 2nd, 2009 at 10:52 am
I am absolutely religious about my advent calendar. My grandmother made me a gorgeous one with tiny little ornaments that hang on a fabric tree when I was a child and I have put it up every year since, dutifully packing it with me throughout our moves. It would not be Christmas without that advent calendar!
December 3rd, 2009 at 7:52 am
I bought mine at the World Market for $.99. It isn’t the best one I’ve ever had…actually, probably the worst, but I’m here in spirit! :) I was totally looking forward to some great German Chocolate too, but unfortunately it tastes a bit like plastic…
December 3rd, 2009 at 7:04 pm
I love advent calendars. They were my favorite part of the season growing up. Usually they had a little toy inside, not candy.
December 4th, 2009 at 7:58 pm
Ah I love those things! In high school our German club would sell those in the fall with the candy sale and we’d always get one. And I don’t know if it truly was German chocolate, but I’ve picked one up at the store instead and the chocolates paled in comparison. Mmm I miss German candy sales. :)
January 25th, 2010 at 5:26 pm
My mother-in-law, who is German – she came to the states as a married woman with two children, gives these to the grandsons each Christmas (although she missed last year – I’m not sure why). So it’s been a wonderful tradition in our household for the boys.