The Advent Calendar
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The Advent Calendar By Rev. Glenda Tucker My sister and I traveled to Bonner’s Christmas store in Michigan. It was there I purchased my granddaughter Bella an Advent Calendar because she really likes them. The one I purchased had a surprise chocolate behind each door you opened. When I got home I looked up the meaning of the Advent Calendar, I was surprised by what I discovered and would like to share it with you. The word ‘Advent’ means ‘Coming’ in Latin, which represents the coming of Jesus into the world. There are three meanings of ‘Coming’ that Christians describe in the Advent. The first, and most thought about, happened about 2,000 years ago when Jesus came into the world as a baby to live as a man and die for us. The second coming can happen as Jesus wants to come into our lives now. The third coming will happen in the future when Jesus comes back to the world as King and Judge. What is Advent? The time of Advent is the 4-week period beginning on the Sunday nearest the feast day of St. Andrew the Apostle (November 30) through the following three Sundays. Historians estimate that Advent has been celebrated since the 4th century. Originally, the period was a time for converts to Christianity to prepare for baptism, but it’s now more commonly associated with the anticipation of the anniversary of Christ’s birth on December 25. Advent Sunday can be from November 27 (which it was in 2016) to December 3 (which it was in 2017). Advent only starts on December 1 when Christmas Day is on a Wednesday (which happens in 2019). No one is sure when Advent was first celebrated, but it dates back to at least 567 when the monks were ordered to fast during December leading up to Christmas. Some people fast (don’t eat anything) during Advent to help them concentrate on preparing to celebrate Jesus’s coming. In many Orthodox and Eastern Catholics Churches, Advent lasts for 40 days and starts on November 15 and is also called the Nativity Fast. In medieval, and pre-medieval times, in parts of England, there was an early form of Nativity scenes called ‘advent images’ or a ‘vessel cup.’ This was a box, often with a glass lid that was covered with a white napkin, that contained two dolls representing Mary and the baby Jesus. The box was decorated with ribbons and flowers and sometimes apples. They were carried around from door to door. It was thought to be very unlucky if you didn’t see the box before Christmas Eve. People paid the box carriers a halfpenny to see the box. There are some Christmas Carols that are really Advent Carols. These include ‘People Look East,’ ‘Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus,’ ‘Lo! He Comes, with Clouds Descending’ and perhaps the most popular Advent song ‘O Come, O Come Emmanuel!’ What is the Advent Calendar Origin? Advent calendars typically don’t follow the period of Advent described above. Instead, they begin on December 1 and mark the 24 days before Christmas. Today, most Advent calendars include paper doors that open to reveal an image, Bible verse, or piece of chocolate. The tradition dates to the mid-19 century when German Protestants made chalk lines on a door and rubbed one off every day or lit candles to count the days leading up to Christmas. Gerhard Lang is widely considered the producer of the first printed Advent calendar in the early 1900s. Around the same time, a German newspaper included an Advent calendar insert as a gift to its readers. Lang’s calendar was inspired by one that his mother had made for him and featured 24 colored pictures that attached to a piece of cardboard. Lang modified his calendars to include the little doors that are a staple of most Advent calendars today, and they became a commercial success in Germany. Production stopped due to a cardboard shortage during World War II, but resumed soon after with Richard Sellmer emerging as the leading producer of commercial Advent calendars. When they were first made, scenes from the Christmas story and other Christmas images were used, such as snowmen and robins, but now many calendars are made in the themes of toys, television programs, and sports clubs. Some of these types of calendars even have chocolate under each window to make every day in December that little bit better. The first calendar with chocolate in it was made in 1958 although they only became popular in the 1980s. Some European countries such as Germany use a wreath of fir with 24 bags or boxes hanging from it. In each box or bag there is a little present for each day. There are also now all different types of Advent calendars used to sell and promote different products including chocolate, perfumes, alcohol, and beauty products. The world’s largest Advent calendar was made in 2007 at the St. Pancras Train Station in London, England. It was 71 m tall and 23 m wide and celebrated the refurbishment of the station. The most expensive Advent calendar ever was made in 2010 by a jeweler in Belgium. It was made of 24 glass tubes each containing some diamonds and silver. It was worth about $3.3 million. Editor’s Note: As I read this article, I found it was so interesting, but then I grew sad. To think that something like an Advent calendar was first used to remind people of Jesus’ Coming brought joy to me; however, to see how it then evolved into just commercial advertisement revealed the sly tricks we are faced with every day. Slowly, oh so very slowly, the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been watered down making it is no longer effective. We must be vigilant and stand our ground! We must spread the unchangeable Word of God! .