Nostalgia - Advent calendar

I didn't manage to do an advent calendar on the blog last year and there won't be one this year either, but like last year I'll be trying to stick to Christmassy themes in the posts that I will have.
What would be better to start with than the history of the advent calendar?

I already wrote about that in 2010, but I think it won't hurt to go into again.
The idea of an advent calendar first emerged in the 19th century, but not in printed form. People made chalk marks on the door and children cleaned one off every day or they hung a religious picture on the wall every day.
There are other ways to count down, like Wichern's advent wreath which had 24 candles instead of just four like today or advent candles like this one.

There are different opinions on when the first printed calendar came out, 1902 or 1903. 
Anyhow, they didn't look like the ones we know today yet. They were from cardboard on which children glued little pictures.

The ones we know, with the pictures behind little doors, came up after 1920. At first, the calenders often showed a village, town or forest in the snow. My first one, which I used for several years until the cardboard doors had really suffered and didn't want to stay closed anymore, had a forest scene with critters and of course glitter. Glitter was a part of Christmas. The door for the 24th was a double one which I thought was fabulous.
I got such a calendar again as a grown-up and used it for several years, but sadly it got lost or I might still be using it now.

The ever popular chocolate filled calendar came out in 1958 for the first time. I had one or the other of those, such as my Discworld calendars.

Nowadays, advent calendars come in all kinds of shapes, with pralines, toys, vouchers, even jewelry!
They come as puzzle and adventure books, audiobooks with a story for each day, as online calendars or on the radio. I admit not having given up hope yet to win something from my favorite online calendar which has a giveaway for every day.
I also love my Jacquie Lawson online advent calendars and am looking forward to the one for this year which is a Christmas village. I'm not affiliated with them in any way, I just love them for the mood.
And of course I got handmade advent calendars and I made them myself (never a hand sewn one because I was allowed to quit the optional craft class in school before I had to learn how to make one of those).

This year I decided to go classic and vintage inspired by getting this calendar.
I usually avoid buying new things with glitter, but hadn't even noticed it had glitter when I ordered it. Also, for an advent calendar - I admit I was surprised in a good way, and of course I don't plan to throw it away at the end of the year, but keep using it.