Nordic Christmas calendar
A Christmas calendar (Swedish: julkalender, Danish: julekalender Finnish: joulukalenteri, Norwegian: julekalender, Icelandic: jóladagatal) is a form of Nordic televised advent calendars, first introduced in Sweden in 1957 with the radio series, Barnens adventskalender.
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.[1] The first such series aired in Denmark was Historier fra hele verden in 1962.[2] The form gradually extended into the other Nordic countries of Norway, Finland and Iceland.
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).
Christmas calendars very often feature "tomter" or "nisser", and occasionally a Santa Claus figure.
A more modern version of a Christmas calendar is the show The 24th, which is a parody on the popular American series 24 starring Kiefer Sutherland.