Advent calendars have become a beloved tradition for many families leading up to Christmas. Behind each little door is a special treat or surprise counting down the days until the 25th. But have you ever wondered – how many doors should an advent calendar actually have?
As advent calendars have become more and more popular over the years, you may have noticed some variations when it comes to the number of doors. Some have 24, some have 25, and some even have just 12 doors. So what gives?
As a professional advent calendar printing manufacturer, we’ll explore in this article, the history and meaning behind advent sheds some light on how many doors your calendar should have.
A Brief History of Advent
To understand the logic behind advent calendar doors, it helps to first understand what advent is all about.
Advent marks the beginning of a new liturgical year for many Western churches. More specifically, it’s the season leading up to Christmas. The word itself comes from the Latin “adventus”, meaning “arrival” or “coming”.
For Christians, advent is a time of preparation for celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ on Christmas day. It’s also a time to reflect on the eventual second coming of Christ.
When Does Advent Start?
The very start date of advent changes every year. It’s determined as the fourth Sunday before December 25th, which can fall anywhere between November 27th to December 3rd.
For 2024, the first Sunday of advent lands on December 1st. From that date, advent lasts through Christmas eve on December 24th – for a total of 24 days.
However, advent can last 22 to 28 days in any given year. Again, it all depends on which day of the week Christmas occurs that year.
The History of the Advent Calendar
An advent calendar is essentially a fun, creative way to count down the days of advent leading up to Christmas. But where did this tradition originate? And how did it end up at 24 standard doors?
Early Advent Countdowns
The first known advent “calendars” emerged in 19th century Germany with Protestant Christians. Back then, families would use chalk to mark off days of advent on doors or walls.
Some families also placed a small toy or treat into an empty box or basket for their children to open on each day. Opening the special item was a tangible way to teach children the meaning behind advent.
Published Advent Calendars
The advent calendar as we know it came onto the scene in the early 1900s thanks to Gerhard Lang.
Gerhard Lang’s popular advent calendar
In 1908, Lang – a German publisher – printed the first mass-produced advent calendar for children. His version contained 24 color images for kids to paste onto cardboard in the countdown.
By removing the movable dates of advent start times, Lang’s calendar focused fully on starting from December 1st and going through Christmas Eve. This made it easy for families to reuse each year.
In the 1920s, designs shifted to use small doors that children could open to reveal the special picture, message, or surprise inside. And soon calendars filled with chocolates also became popular.
The 24 vs 25 Debate
Over the years, some have debated if a “true” advent calendar should have 25 vs 24 doors.
The argument for 25 doors points back to the varying range of 22 to 28 advent days. Plus, an additional 25th door makes an event out of Christmas day itself.
However, the 24-door design still reigns supreme to this day for a few practical reasons:
- 24 doors are aligned with the fixed December 1st through 24th timeline
- The 24 count is consistent no matter how many advent days there are
- It allows the big event of Christmas day to stand alone after
In the end, while 24 doors may not perfectly match the number of advent days in a given year, it offers consistency in design and function. This reliability has made 24 doors the standard in modern advent calendar tradition.
Should You Have More or Less Than 24 Doors?
While 24 doors may be the most common design, there’s nothing saying you have to follow it. At the end of the day, an advent calendar is simply a creative outlet to make the holiday season more fun and meaningful.
If having 25 doors holds special meaning for your family, then go for it. Or maybe even combine multiple calendars to extend your countdown over weeks.
That said, for children especially, having less than 24 doors risks leaving them disappointed on some mornings. And packaging constraints can make going over 24 doors impractical too.
Here are some top reasons families may veer from the standard 24:
12 Days of Christmas Calendars
You may have spotted advent calendars labeled as “12 days of Christmas” rather than tied to a specific December date range.
These aren’t true advent calendars as they actually start timing from Christmas day itself. Specifically, the 12 days in these calendars correlate to the 12 days of Christmas – December 25 through January 5.
Since the 12 days don’t align with advent, these alternative calendars make better gifts to open fully on Christmas day. They work nicely as a complementary countdown after a standard advent calendar ends too.
Extended Family Calendars
Another reason to have more than 24 advent calendar doors is if you want to prolong the excitement over weeks instead of days.
For example, my family loves to string together multiple smaller advent calendars back-to-back. We might have special Lego mini-calendars tied to each child to start. Then our standard chocolate advent doors for the second half of December.
Extending with multiple types of advent calendars means continued anticipation and joy over 4+ weeks. Just be warned – it can get pretty chaotic if you go too crazy with piles of different calendars!
Digital Advent Calendars
Of course with apps and technology, the possibilities for advent countdowns are endless. If 24 doors feels limiting, virtual calendars can have as many doors as they want.
For instance, Lego builds digital advent calendars with 40+ doors of characters, scenes, and jokes.
Other apps may simply keep the countdown going long after Christmas day. There’s no rule that says the fun has to stop on the 25th online.
Crafting Your Own Design
Finally, families and crafters with imagination have creative license when hand-making their own advent calendars.
You could use numbered bags clipped along a wire, sticks taped to a background posterboard, or customized boxes covered in wrapping paper – the options are endless.
Of course not everyone has the bandwidth to hand-craft a beautiful advent calendar from scratch every year. But if you want to start a new tradition that breaks the mold, crafting allows you to take some creative liberties with door shapes and counts.
When in Doubt, Stick With 24
While retailers have moved far beyond just chocolate advent calendars today, the 24 door format still dominates most products on shelves.
Even for craftier families tying advent into garlands, wreaths, or other displays, using 24 numbers or motifs is typically the easiest to produce consistently year-over-year.
So if you’re wondering “what’s the right number of doors”, the safe answer is probably just sticking with the tried and true 24. This design aligns nicely with the fixed December 1st to 24th timeline and avoids the risk of disappointment on any given day.
That said, it’s your holiday and calendar – make it as unique as you’d like! The most meaningful advent countdown traditions are often those filled with special memories tailored just for your family.