The Season of Advent, which begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas Day, is celebrated by many western Christians. It is a time for people to prepare for the celebration of the birth of Jesus at Christmas.
The earliest authentic record of Advent was the Macon council held in 581, which stated that the season starts on the feast of St. Martin - November 11; this period is still observed in the Orthodox church.
About 600, Pope Gregory I decreed that the Advent season should start on the fourth Sunday before Christmas, but the longer period was observed in England for some years.
The shorter period is now observed in the Anglican, Episcopal, Lutheran and Roman Catholic churches, and the first Sunday of Advent is regarded as the commencement of the Christian ecclesiastical year.
Special Advent Calendars are made for children, with pictures or treats for each day of Advent.
The first advent calendars were chalk lines made by German protestant families for every day in December until Christmas Eve.
The first commercial advent calendars were printed in Germany in 1851. They were made out of fabric and each day had a little pocket filled with sweets. Originally used just by German Lutherans, they are now ubiquitous among adherents of many Christian denominations.
The first printed calendar appeared in Munich in 1903.
To conserve paper, the production of advent calendars ceased in the United Kingdom during World War II.
In time, Advent calendars became divorced from any Christian content and are now part of the 'Christmas countdown', which in supermarkets usually begins in September.
Source Funk & Wagnell's Encyclopedia
The earliest authentic record of Advent was the Macon council held in 581, which stated that the season starts on the feast of St. Martin - November 11; this period is still observed in the Orthodox church.
About 600, Pope Gregory I decreed that the Advent season should start on the fourth Sunday before Christmas, but the longer period was observed in England for some years.
The shorter period is now observed in the Anglican, Episcopal, Lutheran and Roman Catholic churches, and the first Sunday of Advent is regarded as the commencement of the Christian ecclesiastical year.
Special Advent Calendars are made for children, with pictures or treats for each day of Advent.
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| "Marianne Schneegans Adventskalender" by Marianne Schneegans (1946) via Wikipedia Commons |
The first advent calendars were chalk lines made by German protestant families for every day in December until Christmas Eve.
The first commercial advent calendars were printed in Germany in 1851. They were made out of fabric and each day had a little pocket filled with sweets. Originally used just by German Lutherans, they are now ubiquitous among adherents of many Christian denominations.
The first printed calendar appeared in Munich in 1903.
To conserve paper, the production of advent calendars ceased in the United Kingdom during World War II.
In time, Advent calendars became divorced from any Christian content and are now part of the 'Christmas countdown', which in supermarkets usually begins in September.
Source Funk & Wagnell's Encyclopedia
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