Why certain chocolate advent calendars only go up to the 24th December and not Christmas Day
You've probably wondered why some advent calendars can only go up to 24 December instead of going all the way to the big day.
If you've got a Celebrations Advent Calendar, you probably won't be the happiest after opening three Bounty bars in a row, but that may be the least of your worries.
Apparently, there are two odd reasons behind the move to have just 24 slots, which aren't really acceptable, if you ask me.
Hopefully you aren't one of the victims that has spent 24 days of Christmas eating your delicious chocolates, only to get to Christmas Day itself and realise that there's nothing for you to unravel.
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Apparently, we have to go back in time a bit and look at the history behind advent calendars to find the answer to this mystery.
So the word 'advent' in Latin means 'coming', and it is used in the Christian church to describe the period of preparation leading up to the birth of baby Jesus come Christmas Day.
The other meaning behind it is 'preparation' for the 'Second Coming of Christ'.
According to Britannica, Western churches begin the period of Advent on the Sunday nearest to 30 November, which is also St. Andrew's Day, marking the start of the liturgical year.
They further explain: “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 in, 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."
Topics: Christmas, History, Food And Drink
Joshua Nair