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Some have 12, others 24 or 25. Why so many different options?
It’s the most wonderful time of year for many reasons. While everyone has different traditions and ways of celebrating, I think we can all agree that one of the best things about December is the arrival of Advent calendars. Growing up, I looked forward to punching open that little cardboard door every morning to get my piece of chocolate for the day. And as an adult, guess what—I still feel the same way. And now I even buy Advent calendars for my dog.
But not all Advent calendars are created equal. I’ve noticed that some of them have 12 doors, while others have 24 or 25 doors. The one that I bought for my dog this year at Aldi has only 12. So I did a little digging to find out what the deal is with all this door discrepancy. The answer surprised me!
A Brief History of the Advent Calendar
First, some basic definitions. Advent is a Christian season that anticipates the birth of Jesus. It doesn’t technically begin on December 1, but rather the fourth Sunday before Christmas. For 2025, that means that Advent occurs between Sunday, November 30, and Wednesday, December 24. The term “Advent” actually comes from the Latin word adventus, which means “coming” or “arrival.” And it doesn’t always last for 24 days; some years it can be longer and other years it can be shorter.
Like many Christmas traditions that started out uniquely religious, Advent has slowly became more secular over time. The first Advent calendars can be traced back to 19th-century Germany, where each of the 24 doors revealed a Bible verse or prayer. Many of them were made of paper or wood, and were reusable for every Advent season. The 24 doors were meant to be opened in December during the lead-up to Christmas—but not on Christmas.
Now, you’ll find modern Advent calendars that include chocolate candies, tiny toys, boozy treats or even luxury products.
Why do some Advent calendars only have 12 doors?
So the trick answer here is that any Advent calendar that only has 12 doors isn’t technically an Advent calendar at all. Instead, this is connected to the 12 days of Christmas. This also came from a religious celebration. The 12-day Christmas period is from December 25 through January 5. It culminates on January 5, the Epiphany, when the three wise men bestowed gifts on Jesus.
These 12 days of Christmas calendars have mostly started to pop up in modern times. There is, of course, the famous “12 Days of Christmas” song, which lists the many gifts someone is gifted by their lover during Christmastime.
But the real reason why some modern calendars only have 12 doors is mostly due to cost. Making a calendar with 12 doors instead of 24 is much cheaper. Both in terms of the number of trinkets included, but also potentially in terms of volume and weight (all those calendars have to get shipped, after all!).
So if you really want to celebrate “correctly” this season, then you should buy yourself two calendars. One with 24 doors to celebrate the lead-up to Christmas, and one with 12 doors to celebrate after Christmas.
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