Read Thy Book - Sam's Blog
  • Home
  • Blog
  • About
  • Contact
  • Pics
  • Home
  • Blog
  • About
  • Contact
  • Pics

Picture

December 09th, 2016

12/9/2016

0 Comments

 
How many of you remember having an Advent Calendar as a child?  I remember it vividly.  It was one of our traditions.  It was alway a very elaborate Christmas, or at least winter, scene, all glittery with numbers that seemed near-impossible to find!  Some years my sister and I took turns opening the little doors, other times we each had our own.  Generally they were displayed on the piano, standing up like sheet music. I just love them. The nostaliga of enjoying the holiday through the eyes of a child once more.

This year I have not one, not two but three of them!  My cup runneth over!  My wonderful and sentimental sister sent me an e-advent calendar. Every day I click on a different ornament and since it's interactive it takes me to a new adventure. I could be decorating a wreath or learning a new recipe or watching a Christmas scene unfold or listening to a choir. It's adorable and charming and I love it. 

Tim, knowing of my love of these calendars and not knowing what my sister had planned, sent away for two of them for me.  I was absolutely delighted! I have them set up in the bookcases which flank the entry to the family room. Every day I open not one but two new doors that have little christmassy pictures inside.  These two are slowly revealing the Clement Moore, Night Before Christmas story. I love  both of these too!

Since this was such a happy memory for me, I tried to pass it along to the next generation. When the boys were young, I tried every year to find an advent calendar for them.  All three had to share so it was with great ceremony that the child of the day would look for his numbered door with his brothers crowding around rather impatiently "helping" him look, with me shushing their assitance. It was chaos but of a wonderful type.  Once the door was open revealing the picture, they would all, in turn, admire it before blasting forward into the next adventure of their day.  It helped them to understand the passage of time between this moment and the far distant all important Christmas Day. Between the advent calendars and the Christmas activity books (which were ESSENTIAL) all that little boy Christmas excitement was slightly more in control.

Because I'm a curious sort, I was wondering where this wonderful idea came from.  So I did some reading.  It began in the early 19th century in Protestant Germany as a way to marking the days between Advent and Christmas Day.  Originally it was a chalk mark on each family's front door. Gradually it morphed into such things a candle wreaths,where the family would light a candle every day to mark passage of time. Then handmade calendars of every clever sort were made by each family. Since that's where the printing press was invented, thank you Mr. Guttenburg, eventually they became mass produced paper calendars similar to what most of us saw when we were young.  Each little door might reveal a bible verse or a Christmas or winter picture.  Some had hard candies attached, one for each day.

In the 1940's the idea jumped the pond to America.  In the 50's someone came up with the idea of having a chocolate behind each door (YUM!)  And now there are advent calendars of every imaging, including as interactive electronic cards. And I adore them all.

If you are among the unfortunate souls who have never had this experience, give it a try, for yourselves, your children or your grandkids.  It is one of my favourite of all the Christmas traditions even though it's rather low-key and inexpensive. It's a sort of slow down and step back a minute kind of experience.  And, especially this time of year, who couldn't use a little bit of that.

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Yup, this is me. Some people said, "Sam, you should write a Blog".   "Well, there's a thought", I thought to myself. And so here it is.

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly