Why some advent calendars only go up to the 24th December
There are two major theories as to why some advent calendars only go up to 24 December.
Both are completely unacceptable, by the way.
I hope you've never had to experience scranning through 24 days worth of chocolate to get - absolutely nothing - on Christmas, the 25th day.
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To explain, let's take a look at the origin of advent calendars.
The word ‘advent’ is Latin for ‘coming’ which is used in the Christian church calendar to describe the period of preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus at Christmas.
It can also mean the 'preparation for the Second Coming of Christ'.
Britannica explains: “In Western churches, advent begins on the Sunday nearest to November 30 (St. Andrew’s Day) and is the beginning of the liturgical year.
“In many Eastern churches, the Nativity Fast is a similar period of penance and preparation that occurs during the 40 days before Christmas. The date when the season was first observed is uncertain.”
“It is thought that advent was first celebrated back in AD567 when monks would fast in the month leading up to Christmas," writes Hotel Chocolat.
Now, the first theory as to why there's only 24 days worth of chocolate is because the word 'advent' - as mentioned - relates to the 'preparation' of the birth of Christ, so in chocolate terms, manufacturers take that literally, as a day before Christmas.
The other theory is that it's easier for manufacturers to pick a fixed number of days for a calendar so it can be reproduced or reused every season, which makes perfect sense, sadly.
"Although we now typically see advent calendars in houses from the December 1 until December 24, advent calendars aren’t strictly for December only," Hotel Chocolat explain.
"Advent Sunday – the first of the four Sundays before Christmas Day – can fall between November 27 and December 3.
"However, most people tend to wait until December to pop open their first door – expect to see advent calendars during November in churches only.
"We can’t help but feel this should be made more of the norm at Christmas: who can say no to an extra few days of chocolate, guilt-free?"
They added: "The production of advent calendars began to slow after paper rations in WW2 were brought into place, but people’s love of them never died.
"By the 1950s, many calendars began including small gifts, such as chocolates or toys, behind the door.
"Over time, advent calendars became less religious, with more people seeing them as a fun way to countdown the days until Christmas.
"Nowadays, advent calendars are miles away from the religious boxes that they once were."
Anish Vij