What bought on the tradition of Advent Chocolate Calendars, adored by kids and adults alike? When was the tradition made official? This chapter delves into how this concept was conceived, how many companies that make them and the history of Advent Chocolate Calendars.

Also, in this chapter we find out why chocolate selection boxes are linked with Christmas as well.

Did you know, that chocolate pods are known as cocoa beans? The plant derivative which chocolate is made from? Well, cocoa plants go way back to the time if the Aztecs? Hell even cocoa beans in that time zone were also currency. 100 cocoa beans can buy 1 slave. Their version of the hot cocoa drink they made had chilli peppers in it, instead of sugar like our modern drinking chocolate does.

Enough on the history how chocolate is made and was discovered, we're going to find out how the concept of advent chocolate calendars came to be.

In 20th century Germany, this tradition of counting down the days to Christmas began on December 1st. The first printed Advent calendar originated in Germany in the early 20th century with Gerhard Lang.

The chocolate Advent Calendar concept was adopted in the western Europe and America from... The history of the calendar traces back to 19th century. When Gerhard Lang was a kid his mum made him an Advent Calendar with 24 “Wibbele” (little candies) that were stuck on a cardboard. Years later during his wok at the printing office Reichhold & Lang, he made the similar model for every day in December. Calendars filled with chocolate began to appear from the late 1950s around the time that they also began to spread around the world. Eisenhower is sometimes credited with the American popularisation of them having been photographed while President opening them with his grandchildren. (pictured below)

Today they are a global phenomenon, even seeing a boost in popularity in recent years but at their heart they retain the essence of counting down the days to Weihnachten that began with those simple chalk scratches. Here's the picture of the first Germanic Advent Calendar.

What about the popular Christmas chocolate selection boxes? How did these sweet treats given to us on Christmas come about?

History:

This is a British Christmas custom. Here's why.

Selection boxes were common around the late 19th and early 20th century Britain. Chocolatiers, Rowntree's and Cadbury pioneered the early selection boxes which were saved for by way of a Christmas club over many months, to be collected around Christmas time. Also Cadbury recently launched a vintage retro style selection box with purple as their signature colour.

The other chocolate factory who.makes their famous fruit pastilles, owned by a man called Henry Issac Rountree, sent out a selection box in the early 1920s, here's a picture below of those vintage style selection boxes.