An Advent Calendar is a special calendar that counts down the days to Christmas Day from December 1st. There's usually a little treat, picture of verse behind each window or door of a child's Advent Calendar. The special Advent Calendar on this webpage however has a link to a fun Christmas webpage to explore.
Advent Calendars evolved from the 19th Century when some German families put chalk marks on the floor to count down the days to Christmas. Homemade Advent calendars became popular in Germany in the 1850s. The first known printed calendar was called the MΓΌnchener Weihnachtskalendar or the Munich Christmas Calendar.
Advent Calendars are quite popular in Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden and Denmark). There are even special Advent television mini-series there.