The German Club will continue to sell authentic Advent calendars from Germany through this Friday.

The calendars have been sold since mid-Nov. and are available for $3.50 from German Club members or sponsor Anne McPartland.

“It really is a German tradition and they [students] share it with friends, so there’s that camaraderie here,” McPartland said. “It’s not a huge fundraiser, but it provides fun and it’s something to look forward to.”

According to McPartland, the German club has sold these authentic cardboard Advent calendars for about 10 years. Unlike many traditional American Advent calendars where the countdown occurs in order, the German variety has each day scattered throughout the image of a traditional German Christmas scene with a small piece of German chocolate hidden under each flap. McPartland purchases these calendars from a company in Iowa who obtains them straight from Germany.

“It’s kind of cool because with the American advent calendar, you just flip the numbers,” Vice President of German Club senior Olivia Stuertz said. “With the German calendar, you get a reward.”

In order to incorporate the German culture aspect into the Advent calendar sales, McPartland has brought the calendars into each of her German classes. Each class got to vote on the style of calendar for their class, and at the beginning of each hour, a select student hunts for the chocolate based on a name pulled out of a hat.

“It’s a fun tradition we have as a class,” senior Hayden Jensen said. “It’s fun when it’s that time of year again and it gives us a fun way to countdown the days until Christmas break.”