What is Advent and How is it Celebrated in France?
As I've grown older, traditions have become more important to me including those surrounding Christmas. As a child, Christmas traditions were not really observed by my parents. But as a parent myself, I've loved adopting some traditional Christmas practices and decorating our home with pretty twinkling lights and, of course, a beautiful tree.
One of the more recent traditions I've embraced is celebrating Advent. This post will cover what Advent is, how it is celebrated in France and gift Advent calendars. I also share ideas on how to make your own calendar. In next week's post we will share everything you need to know about Advent Wreaths, what they are and how to make your own beautiful Advent wreath.
More...
Advent Season
The Advent season of Christianity is determined by the feast day of Saint Andrew (November 30) with the closest Sunday becoming the first Sunday of Advent. There are then three Sundays that follow as part of Advent with each focusing on the upcoming celebration.
Preparing for Christmas has long included marking the days until the big day itself. Early in the 19th century this was simply done with chalk or lighting candles but this has evolved to more elaborate counting down options. Counting down on a modern Advent calendar (calendrier de l’Avent) does not start in November on the feast day of Saint Andrew, but rather on 1 December, continuing to 24 December.
Discover the History of the Advent Calendar
The history of the Advent calendar is almost like a sweet fairytale itself. When Gerhard Lang was a little boy his mother made a calendar with 24 small candies attached to cardboard to help him countdown to Christmas. When Gerhard was older and working in a printing office in Germany, he had the idea to recreate a similar calendar to the one his mother made.
The First Printed Advent Calendar
In 1908 his version was printed on coloured cardboard and historians have since credited Gerhard with producing the first printed Advent calendar. In the following years calendars became more complex and eventually had the little doors we know so well, and were made to hold 24 chocolates.
The reason why the “Advent” calendars start on December 1 in France and other countries, and not when the liturgical season begins is because of the wide variation in dates when Advent begins. At first these calendars were re-used each year, and starting on December 1 made it possible to keep the calendar for future use. This eventually became an accepted standard and even though new calendars are made every year, the tradition of starting the calendar on December 1 has been maintained.
Commercially produced calendars have sweets or chocolates to be discovered each day and in France, chocolatiers create more beautiful editions each year. French luxury beauty brands are releasing limited edition Advent calendars also and they have become a must-have for elegant holiday decor and make a popular gift choice for Thanksgiving, just in time for unpacking throughout December. These high-end calendars are filled with treats such as tea, beauty products, perfume and jewellery.
Simple colourful Christmas Advent chocolate calendars for children
DYI Advent Calendars
Advent calendars can be made or bought with ideas ranging from numbered boxes, numbered stockings, three dimensional frames or structures with draws or opening doors for each day. If you are making your own calendar you can put whatever you like in the stockings, boxes or draws. Here's a tutorial on how to make your own calendar by Ann of On Sutton Place. Anne also shares how to make a very sweet kid's Advent calendar with printable numbers on her blog.
To find out more about Christmas in France read our posts French Christmas Traditions and Advent Calendar.
