Chocolate Advent Calendars are a scrumptious part of the holiday season and a time-honored tradition for most children (and adults, too!). Our chocolate Advent calendars feature twenty-four days of chocolates to open and enjoy as you excitedly count down the days until Santa arrives.

Despite their popularity, few people actually know the history of advent calendars and how they came about. So we put together the sweet details behind this unique holiday tradition.

• Advent calendars can be traced back to the nineteenth century. German Lutheran families drew a chalk line for each day until Christmas. We bet they wished they had chocolate Advent calendars back then instead!
• Advent “clocks” were created, featuring 24 candles, in the late nineteenth century. A candle would be lit for each day closer to Christmas. This was a common family tradition in German-speaking parts of Europe.
• The first printed Advent calendar was created in Hamburg around 1900. Gerhard Lang is hailed as the creator of the modern-day Advent calendar, as in 1908, he made twenty-four colored pictures affixed to a piece of cardboard. A few years later, he introduced an Advent calendar with twenty-four small doors, which is very similar to our chocolate Advent calendars of today.
• Present-day Advent calendars come in a multitude of styles, from the chocolate Advent calendars many of us are accustomed to to larger more elaborate styles filled with small gifts and sweets. In addition, some Advent calendars actually feature 25 or 26 doors, if Boxing Day is included, as well as some even extending to New Year’s Day!

This year, continue the tradition or start a new one by gifting the special people in your life with a Christmas Chocolate Advent Calendar. The holidays are a wonderful time full of splendor and cheer, and an Advent calendar helps build up the excitement and anticipation to see what Santa leaves under the tree on Christmas morning!