The Advent Calendar Phenomenon: How to Use the Quirky Tradition to Slow Down and Savor the Season
Discover the unusual and quirky Advent calendars of the year and a a possible alternative
Welcome to the holidays.
I could have said that in August when I started seeing Christmas decorations in stores.
The holidays start earlier each year. The pressure on retailers, particularly ones with storefronts rather than just delivery trucks, is immense to sell all they can in the last quarter of the year.
And as Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s (plus Hanukkah and Kwanzaa) smoosh into each other, it’s easy to find a tool to help mark the days leading up to Christmas.
Behold the Advent calendar.
Advent, a season of marking the days leading up to Christmas, has been celebrated since the fourth or fifth century. In the late 1800s or early 1900s, calendars emerged counting down the days from December 1 to Christmas. Advent in the Christian church is based on Sundays, so the start date varies. Still, it’s just much easier to use the month of December as the basis of a calendar with a small treat each day, “traditionally a Bible verse, a toy or a piece of chocolate,” according to an NPR story on the popularity of calendars this year.
One of our favorites is a letter-press printed calendar from artist Brooke Rothshank. Inside are little pieces of art shining light on the season. We keep and reuse it year to year.
“But companies are getting increasingly creative, meaning there's a much wider variety of Advent goodies to choose from these days,” the story continues.
That’s how we got to where the array of Advent calendars borders on absurdity.
There are food-based calendars with tea, beer, chocolate, whiskey, cookies, coffee, and jams, to name a few.
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