if u celebrate Christmas-have u always had an advent calendar

[DebbieHodge]

Christmas was a major holiday in my family as I grew up -- and I still love Christmas, but I have never had an advent calendar. In fact I don't think I even ever heard of them til I was an adult.

Have you all always had them? My son showed me one in the store the other day and I told him I thought I'd never had one because . . . of the church we went to? Which now sounds absurd -- but what's the deal?

[carollee]

Debbie, when I saw Merr's fabulous page about her advent calendar stickers, I thought, heck, I've never had an advent calendar either. But I had heard of them, we just didn't do it. I wonder why? I must set about to right this!! LOL

[muddygirl]

I got a cute one for my son this year, but I dont remember my Mum doing it when we were kids.

[quilter422]

we did not have one growing up, but i made a quilted one for the boys. it has felt ornaments that they hang on it.

[digigrandma]

Yes, we had Advent Calendars in my home when I was growing up. They were usually imported from either Sweden, Norway or Germany. They were little scenes with windows to open. Behind the windows were symbols of Christmas.

Another custom was the ritual of lighting the 4 candles on an Advent Wreath or Advent Jul Log. There were 4 candles. Each of the 4 Sundays in Advent we would light another of the candles and a special Bible verse would be read aloud. Advent Wreaths are used on the 4 Sundays before Christmas in our Lutheran Church; one candle is lit on the first Sunday of Advent and so on until all 4 candles are lit.

Recently, I am seeing that more and more ideas related to marking the days leading up to Christmas Day in some special way each day.

[Britgirl]

I'm wondering if its more an english/european tradition thats 'fairly recently' seeping abroad? we always had advent calendars as a child. Only we had flat paper ones with pictures in ours, now they are either chocolate or very '3D' with gifts in!

[earlofoxford]

Debbie, like you, I had never heard of Advent until I was an adult. The church we attend now (Baptist) does the advent wreath and lights candles each Sunday, but I don't think it was a typical Southern Baptist thing back in the day.

[PaulaSG]

That's interesting that you have them in the UK. We didn't have them in Ireland. Advent wreaths yes, calendars no. Now I've gone a little nuts on them -- we have 5 in the house right now

[mugsbigsis]

Until my boys grew up. When I was a kid I think we had something similar, but it wasn't an "open the door" type thing because there were too many of us and I'm sure there would have been a fight. lol

[katrinak]

I only learned about them as an adult as well! (and now I'm frankly obsessed with them!)

[Joey_M]

I am 35 and I have had both wreaths and calendars for as long as I can remember. I grew up Lutheran & my dad is Norwegian so maybe that has something to do with it! I am now Methodist and I handed them out in Sunday School. Advent is the start of the new year according to the Christian calendar.

I think it was either Jessica Sprague or Ali Edwards that did a super cute Advent calendar last year that had little doors/drawers with goodies. Looked like a ton of fun!

HTH!

[suzanne]

Add me to the never heard of Advent and Advent calendars until I was an adult group. We attended a Methodist at our last duty station and that was the first experience I had celebrating advent. I grew up in a Baptist church and current attend a Baptist and never celebrated it at either one.

I wish I had started celebrating it more years ago.

[shellb]

They were very popular in England when I lived there. People seemed to give them like Christmas cards. I usually got at least 3 a year. It could have just been were I worked though?

Prior to that I had heard of them but they are really hard to find in the US. I think I might try the international market or maybe the British store. I love them.

[LauraBean]

We didn't have them as kids, but I had them for my own children from when they were pretty little (early 90s).

[MIDA78466]

I didn't hear of the Advent calendar until I was grown. Advent wreath yes, but not the calendar.

[Carol Elliott]

I am 47, a lifelong Methodist, and have always had advent wreaths and calendars. We had an advent calendar when I was growing up. My mom made it and hangs it to this day.I do the same, but bought one until I had "time" to make one ... am still using the purchased one! It has a pocket for each day that I put a small treat (stick of gum or candy cane) in for each of the kids.

[Lisa Pate]

We had them growing up my brother and I would trade off days opening it. One year it even had chocolate behind the door!

[bluelemur01]

oh yes, we had them every year...and LOVED them! It was magical to open the doors and see a cute new pictures every day. My mom also made an amazing huge calendar out of felt with a pocket for each day. Each night after we sang songs around the Advent wreath, we'd get to look in the day's pocket for a clue, which would direct us to a small gift hidden around the house. It was so much fun!

[bluelemur01]

I think some of the other posters are right; when we were growing up I think it was more of a European-heritage custom to do the Advent calendar. We always got our calendars at the German delicatessen/import store, or sometimes my aunt would even send ones to us from Germany. But as we got older, they got more mainstream, and now I see them everywhere -- Hallmark, Target, Barnes/Noble, etc.

[connieg]

Like others I never heard of the Advent calendar until I was an adult, and when I did learn of it, I figured the reason we didn't have it was because we were to poor. Now you all are telling me there is a wreath too, LOL geesh I must have been brought up in the sticks.

[blkcow]

Always had a glittery Advent Calendar when i was growing up. It was flat and the doors would open up..my Mother would put a small nightlight behind it and you could see the glow coming out of the door...very magical.

[DebbieHodge]

love hearing the background on these and your own experiences past and present. (and glald I'm not the only one who didn't hear of them til adulthood).

[dover14]

We were military brats so we had them sporatically depending on what base we were stationed at. One thing that struck me though is that doing the December Daily album is sort of like making the Advent calendar as you go. What little surprise or piece of Christmas magic will I find today?

Cool thread, Debbie.

[kathie02]

Add me to the wreath but no calendar group! I love the idea of the calendar though!!

[annaaspnes]

We've always done the chocolate ones...I haven't come across any this year though..

[shhbabymine]

We have always had them also, and always done the advent log on Sundays leading up to christmas, too. We have a large house that I bought a few years ago, and I do the individual ones for the kids too...(Anna I found chocolate ones at our local grocery store)...

[Chris]

They were the glittery kind back then when I was a kid - from Germany I think. I didn't give them to my girls every year but now they have children they do, so I suppose it stuck!

I belong to a British scrap group and they make the most beautiful advent calendars. The one I love is from British match boxes, our matchboxes here in the U.S. are too small or large.

I do a search every year to see what's out there especially through Google UK/
This is for Anna Chocolate Advent - and one to play with An interactive one/

[PaulaSG]

Anna - they have them for .99 at Trader Joes, if you have one near you

[Blossom]

I have always had it - and here in Norway you can buy a lot of different although they have changed over the years.

I remember as a kid we got calendar with some plastic stuff on it, when I was about 7 the chocolate calendars started to come. And boy, do I remember that. My sister and I got our first chocolate calendar and I came home from school Dec 1st, and she had eaten both mine and hers while she was home with her babysitter. Then I got a new one and she not - the next day when I got home from school - who had eaten all of mine again... So my parents got me one more - and it was put up way high in a cupboard out of the hands of a 5 year old.

My kids have two advent calendars this year - a lottery calender given by their GF and I have put together 24 things for each of them - a combination of some days of 3 dollars (which amounts to one of our coins), movie tickets, finger boards for DS, twirling stuff for DD, socks, gloves and gum (since none of my kids are eating candy this year ) It is fun to put together.

[Blossom]

This is so Norwegian at least - I believe that every home in our country that celebrate xmas has their advent candle wreath which are lit on every Sunday. And a must the candles have to be violet (or white) as violet is the advent colors of the church year.

Originally Posted by digigrandma

Another custom was the ritual of lighting the 4 candles on an Advent Wreath or Advent Jul Log. There were 4 candles. Each of the 4 Sundays in Advent we would light another of the candles and a special Bible verse would be read aloud. Advent Wreaths are used on the 4 Sundays before Christmas in our Lutheran Church; one candle is lit on the first Sunday of Advent and so on until all 4 candles are lit.
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