Nordic Christmas calendar

{{short description|Television genre}}

{{About|the form of televised advent calendars|advent calendars in general|Advent calendar}}

{{expand Finnish|date=June 2023|topic=cult}}

A Christmas calendar ({{langx|da|julekalender}}, {{langx|sv|julkalender}}, {{langx|no|julekalender}}, {{langx|fi|joulukalenteri}}, {{langx|is|jóladagatal}}, {{langx|fo|jólakalendari}}), is a form of Nordic episodic radio or television advent calendar focused on Christmas. It was first introduced in 1957, in Sweden, with the radio series, Barnens adventskalender.{{cite web|url=http://sverigesradio.se/barn/julkalendrar/kalender_text/1957_text.html|title=Barnens adventskalender|publisher=Sveriges Radio|language=Swedish|date=1957|accessdate=3 December 2014}}

Each series consists of 24 episodes which air daily beginning on the first of December, and ending on Christmas Eve. The first Christmas calendar was the Swedish Titteliture.[https://web.archive.org/web/20071210121106/http://www.sr.se/barn/jul50/bakgrund.stm Julkalendern 50 år - Bakgrund] The first such series aired in Denmark was Historier fra hele verden in 1962.{{cite web |last1=Olesen |first1=Simon Mølholm |last2=Klausen |first2=Søren Kjelst |title=Historieformidling til børn i tv-julekalendere |url=https://danmarkshistorien.dk/leksikon-og-kilder/vis/materiale/historieformidling-til-boern-i-tv-julekalendere/ |website=danmarkshistorien.dk |publisher=Aarhus University |access-date=7 December 2020 |language=da |date=27 November 2018}} The form gradually extended into the other Nordic countries of Norway, Finland and Iceland, and in the 21st century also extended into Germany.{{CN|date=December 2020}}

Most Christmas calendars are produced for children, while some cater to both children and adults, and even some are directed at adults alone. Many Christmas calendar series, such as the 1979 Norwegian Jul i Skomakergata, and the 1990 Icelandic Á baðkari til Betlehem have become classics in their respective countries, and are enjoyed both by children and adults (if purely for nostalgic reasons).{{Citation needed|date=February 2011}}

Christmas calendars very often feature "tomter" or "nisser", and occasionally a Santa Claus figure.