Advent calendars originated in Germany. The very first ones were home-made versions with 24 pictures being hung on the wall. The first printed version appeared in Hamburg in 1902 in the form of a Christmas clock for children. In the following year, Gerhard Lang, a Munich-based publisher, emerged with a sort of sticker book. Over the next 30 years he popularised the calendar, also publishing the first Advent calendar with presents – chocolate. Even so, he went bankrupt. The German market on its own was obviously not ripe for commercialising Christmas yet.
But it was this type of calendar with 24 windows used across Germany as well as in German schools that was mentioned and described in 1937 for the first time in English by Cecilia Mason’s in her book Study of the Homeland and Civilization in the Elementary Schools of Germany.
But it took some 20 years before the calendar really made it big outside Germany. A major factor holding the Advent calendar back was the Second World War. For various reasons, perhaps changes to religious celebrations in the Nazi period or the lack of paper, Advent calendars became very rare in Germany. But after the Second World War, in 1946, the Americans gave Stuttgart-based Richard Sellmer permission to publish an Advent calendar, which he did immediately. Increasingly successful in Germany, the company he founded started exporting to the United States. The real breakthrough came when a newspaper published a picture of Eisenhower’s grandchildren with one of his calendars. This was the real start of the international career of the Advent calendar. Now the company, which is the only company in Germany to sell only Advent calendars, exports to more than 30 countries. And there are major retailers that sell more Advent calendars than this stand-alone company!
Now millions are sold every year, from the very simple version to the million-dollar Porsche version available at Harrods. There the windows open to reveal Porsche-designed presents – gold sunglasses, a jacket, a limited edition chronograph watch, a customisable designer kitchen and a luxury yacht. What a long way from the Protestant families in Hamburg counting down the days to the religious festival!
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