Everything to know about Advent calendars

With December just a couple of weeks away, the holiday season is truly upon us.

While tradition dictates that you should start an Advent Calendar on Dec. 1 and continue with it every day until Dec. 25, modern Advent Calendars can be found with fewer days (like a dozen or less) and others are like gifts that are fun to open all at once.

Children and adults alike will love the traditional Advent Calendars of tiny chocolates and newer novelties like puzzles, jewelry, toy figurines and more.

Here's everything you need to know about the origins of the Advent Calendar and where you can get one:

What is Advent?

Advent comes from the Latin word adventus, meaning “arrival” or “coming.” For Protestants, Catholics and other Christian traditions, Advent is a four-week period intended to be a time of preparation for the arrival of Jesus Christ.

Advent begins on Advent Sunday, which is the fourth Sunday before Christmas.

Since Dec. 25 falls on a different day of the week every year, the dates of advent can also shift. This year, Advent begins on Sunday, Dec. 3 and ends on Sunday, Dec. 24.

What is an Advent calendar and how does it work?

For those who are not religious, modern Advent calendars are a treat-filled way of marking off the days leading up to Christmas or Santa's arrival.

They typically start on Dec. 1 and continue up to Dec. 25, though there are alternatives available such as the 12 Days of Christmas countdown calendars.

The most common type of Advent calendar is one that has paper calendar doors and a little piece of chocolate behind each door.

You should start with the door marked "one" and work your way up to 25.

What is the history behind the tradition?

According to the German company Sellmer Advents-Kallender, the concept of advent calendars dates back to the 19th century, when German families would mark their doors or walls with a tally mark in chalk to count the days until Christmas.

A German printer named Gerhard Lang is credited with the idea of the Advent Calendar itself. He designed cardboard Advent calendars around the turn of the century and later in the 1920s, came up with the idea of cutting out little doors that could be opened each day. Behind each door, one could expect to find a devotional picture or Bible verse.

In the United States, the popularity of the Advent Calendar didn't really take off until 1954, when Newsweek published a photo of President Dwight D. Eisenhower's grandchildren holding one.

And it wasn't until 1958 that the Advent Calendar's little doors began to have a small piece of chocolate, thanks to British chocolatier Cadbury.

Types of Advent Calendars

• Alcoholic - $129. 12 Nights of Wine - Choose from 12 nights or 24 nights of wine. The cozy collection features 12 delicious reds "curated for fireside chats and wool blankets," while the chill collection contains a mix of rich whites, invigorating rosés and even a few chillable reds.
• Beauty - $280. Cult Beauty Advent Calendar - Reportedly worth over $1300, this advent calendar has 39 beauty favorites, including 20 full-size products.
• Chocolate - $9.15. Original Cadbury Dairy Milk Advent Calendar - 25 little Cadbury milk chocolates imported from the UK.
• Daily Devotions - $1.29. Advent: A Calendar of Devotions 2023 - The ebook by Anna Catherine Guillozet contains daily readings for Christians as they prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ. There is a reading for every day from Sunday, Dec. 3 to Christmas Day.
• For Pets - $19.99. Rudolph Advent Calendar - Countdown to Christmas with 25 dog treats and "fun activities behind every door."
• For Kids - $84.95. KiwiCo Advent Calendar Bundle - This two-pack bundle comes with 24 envelopes to open each day with a set of instructions to build a new piece for a handmade holiday display the whole family can enjoy.
• For the Disney Adult - $1,300. Swarovski Disney 100th Anniversary Advent Calendar - For a truly indulgent gift, this advent calendar contains 22 Swarovski crystal ornaments, two necklaces and a set of stickers.
• Jewelry - $254.04. Posh Totty Designs Personalized Advent Calendar - This 12-day advent calendar is personalized to the recipient's star sign for their very own jewelry collection.
• Reusable - $35. Santa Advent Calendar from Pottery Barn Kids - Fill the pockets with your own surprises and treats and you can reuse the calendar year after year for a cherished family tradition
• Toys - $49.99. Peanuts Advent Calendar - The classic Peanuts characters are synonymous with the holidays. This advent calendar has 24 windows with 2-inch figures and accessories from the Peanuts gang.
• More Toys - $31.99. Nintendo Super Mario Pop-Up Environment Advent Calendar - For Nintendo fans of all ages, there's this Super Mario advent calendar with 24 characters and accessories, including Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Toad, and more.
• Unique - $160. 24 Days of Holiday Enamel Pins - by Big League Pins, two Chicagoans, Kirsten Goede and Angie Garbot.
• Voice Calendar - FREE. Enable the Advent Calendar feature on Amazon Alexa and say, "Alexa, Ask Advent Calendar what my surprise is for today” to hear a Christmas-themed joke every day.

All featured items were independently selected and NBC receives no compensation for these links.