Advent Calendar – Looking for Refuge Vevoke

A beautiful and nostalgic three-dimensional folding Advent calendar to unfold and set up, sprinkled with fine silver mica.  Size is 20 x 28cm. Produced in Germany by Korsch Verlag. 

The design –

Joseph and his pregnant wife Mary are desperately looking for a place to stay for the night. The innkeeper gives them a place in the stable and meanwhile the little angels are already preparing the manger for the arrival of the baby Jesus. Artist Gudrun Galler has illustrated this religious Christmas scene in an enchantingly nostalgic way.

Origins of the Advent Calendar –

The Advent Calendar can be traced back to the 19th Century, used by German Lutherans to count or celebrate the 24 days leading up to Christmas. The first printed calendar was made by Gerhard Lang. During his childhood, his mother attached small candles to a chalkboard and Gerhard would take one off each day for the countdown leading up to Christmas Day. These early German calendars were sold for many years up until World War II, when war shortages curtailed production. Richard Selmer resumed the production of the calendars in 1946, and some credit goes to President Eisenhower for making the Advent calendars popular in America. These first advent calendars with little doors printed in the early 1900’s continue today. The calendar windows or doors open to reveal an image, a poem, or a portion of a story – typically the story of the Nativity.