National Advent Calendar Day is a fun, modern event invented by ALDI in the USA. Each year on the first Wednesday in November, ALDI officially launches its full collection of Advent calendars and calls it National Advent Calendar Day. For 2025, that means the date will be Wednesday, November 5, 2025. The idea behind the day is simple: mark the moment when the countdown to Christmas begins, with a bit of style and a whole bunch of calendars.
ALDI promotes the date on its website and social media, inviting customers to join the fun and start their Christmas countdown. What began as a product launch has grown into an annual event that signals the start of the festive season and brings holiday excitement to stores across the country.
Although the concept of the advent calendar goes back to 19th-century Germany, where Lutherans used calendars or picture cards to mark the days of Advent, the modern retail version has broadened far beyond religious use. In the United States, this day marks the unofficial start of the holiday season and offers a cheerful way to begin the Christmas countdown. And while ALDI’s calendars often spark early morning queues, the observance works just as well for people who make their own calendars, gift one to someone else, or simply use the day to lean into the mood of the upcoming festive season.
When Is National Advent Calendar Day Celebrated?
National Advent Calendar Day always falls on the first Wednesday in November, marking the official start of the holiday countdown season. The date changes slightly each year, but it consistently signals the moment when festive excitement begins to build across the country.
| Year | Day of the Week | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Wednesday | November 5 |
| 2026 | Wednesday | November 4 |
| 2027 | Wednesday | November 3 |
| 2028 | Wednesday | November 1 |
| 2029 | Wednesday | November 7 |
| 2030 | Wednesday | November 6 |
Who Invented the Advent Calendar?
The story of the advent calendar began long before ALDI made it a national shopping event. Its origins go back to 19th-century Germany, where families wanted a way to mark the days leading up to Christmas. Early versions were simple — chalk marks on doors or candles lit each evening during Advent. Around the 1850s, German Lutherans began creating homemade calendars with small pictures or Bible verses for each day.
The first printed advent calendar appeared in the early 1900s, created by Gerhard Lang, a printer from Maulbronn, Germany. Inspired by a handmade calendar his mother made for him as a child, Lang added small doors that could be opened each day to reveal pictures or treats. His design became so popular that it set the model for all advent calendars that followed.
Over time, the idea spread throughout Europe and eventually reached the United States, where it evolved from a religious countdown into a fun, family-friendly tradition. Modern versions now include chocolates, toys, beauty products, and even wine.
Ways to Celebrate National Advent Calendar Day
You don’t need to shop at ALDI to enjoy National Advent Calendar Day. The heart of the celebration lies in the spirit of anticipation and the joy of simple daily surprises. Anyone can take part by creating their own countdown tradition or finding small ways to make the season feel more meaningful. Here are some of the best ways you can celebrate this year:
- Make a DIY advent calendar in anticipation of December: Use envelopes, mini-boxes, or cloth bags; fill each day with something small—a note, a mini-treat, a fun prompt.
- Gift an advent calendar to someone else: It might be a friend, a neighbour, a colleague—a way of spreading early holiday cheer.
- Use it as a warm-up for holiday planning: Pick your calendar today, decide when you’ll start opening (December 1 or the first Sunday of Advent), and let it signal the shift into festive mode.
- Reflect on the meaning of anticipation: Use one day to talk about waiting, building excitement, small joys—turn the countdown into something mindful rather than purely commercial.
Before You Go:
We have many more national days lists for you to explore.
- Food-related national days: complete list of national food days, pasta & noodles days, vegan & vegetarian days, celiac & gluten-free days, mushroom days, ice-cream days, pizza days, coffee days, chocolate days, wine days, alcohol & drinking days.
- Non-food national days: National Days Calendar 2025-2026 (check out the printable calendars in my Etsy shop), National Days for Teachers, and a wide array of special lists such as cat days, dog days, animal days, cleaning & organizing days, book days, music days, family & relationships days, national days for women, stationery days and even Harry Potter days.
- Country-specific national days: Australian national days, more coming soon.
