Advent calendar

noun

variants or less commonly advent calendar

plural Advent calendars also advent calendars

: a Christmas-themed display designed to function as a kind of calendar with typically numbered flaps or drawers that correspond to the first 24 or 25 days of December, with a flap or drawer being opened daily to reveal a message, image, or small gift (such as a toy or treat)

A lot of people have heard of Advent, if only because of the Advent calendars that you can buy to help you count the days to Christmas with a little chocolate every day in December.

—Thomas P. Arth

During the 1880s, European craftsmen made elaborate Advent calendars, which families used to tell the Christmas story. Each calendar contains 24 windows. Beginning Dec. 1, one little flap is lifted each day, with the story completed on Christmas Eve.

—Sarah Ban Breathnach

broadly : such a display tracking the days of a month leading up to a holiday or celebratory event other than Christmas

Advent calendars … they're not just for Christmas anymore—Hanukkah and Valentine's Day have both received the advent-calendar treatment …

—Ellen Cushing

Word History

First Known Use

1937, in the meaning defined above