What is Meghan Markle’s advent calendar?

What Advent actually is

Advent, from the Latin adventus meaning "coming," is the period in the Christian church calendar set aside for preparation before the celebration of Christ's birth at Christmas and, second, preparation for the Second Coming of Christ. Its roots trace back to the 4th and 5th centuries in Gaul, modern-day France, Spain, and northern Italy, where churchgoers observed a preparatory period involving fasting, prayer, and reflection. In Western churches, Advent begins on the Sunday nearest to November 30 and marks the start of the liturgical year.

The physical calendar came much later. In the early 1800s, German Protestant families began developing creative ways to help children count the days until Christmas, including chalk marks on the wall and 24 candles lit nightly. In 1839, Johann Hinrich Wichern, a German Protestant minister, introduced the Advent wreath: a large wooden ring with 24 small candles, one lit each day, symbolizing the approaching light of Christmas. The first printed Advent calendar is credited to Gerhard Lang, whose mother created a homemade calendar with sweets. Inspired, Lang designed cardboard calendars with pictures revealed each day, later adding the now-familiar doors. Today advent calendars are usually a secular holiday tradition, though they originate from Christian customs as a way to prepare spiritually for Christmas.

Why the clergy weighed in on Meghan's calendar

Reverend Daniel French, an Anglican priest and university chaplain, drew attention to Meghan's luxury chocolate Advent calendar after it launched through her As Ever lifestyle brand. The calendar, produced in collaboration with Los Angeles chocolatier Compartés, costs £112 and contains 24 handcrafted chocolates.

Taking to X, Rev French posted an image of the Duchess alongside her product and suggested consumers could instead purchase a £5.99 Christian advent calendar from the Meaningful Chocolate Company, which features Fairtrade chocolate, a charity donation to The Leprosy Mission, and a 24-page Christmas story booklet.

Following his post, French was targeted with aggressive online messages from ardent fans of the royal couple, often referred to collectively as the Sussex Squad. Commenters hurled harsh insults, accusing the clergyman of harboring malice and questioning his Christian values for challenging the product launch.

Father Chris Phillips then waded into the row, posting his agreement with his fellow clergyman's position. His endorsement triggered a second surge of hostile messages from Meghan's admirers. The backlash reportedly became so intense that Phillips locked his social media account and blocked several critics.

The dispute comes as Buckingham Palace also released its own advent calendar through the Royal Collection Trust, priced at £12 and featuring 24 days of milk chocolates. Some of Meghan's supporters pointed to this as evidence of a double standard, asking why the priests weren't directing similar scrutiny at the Palace's product.

The core tension is straightforward: the clergy were making a point about the season's religious meaning versus its commercial packaging, a debate that has followed the advent calendar since the moment it moved from chalk marks on church walls to gift-wrapped luxury boxes.

How the season became a box of chocolates

Advent's whole point is counting toward something. The season runs 24 days (give or take, depending on which Sunday it starts) of anticipation before Christmas, and that structured countdown is exactly what the physical calendar was designed to mirror. When Gerhard Lang commercialized the printed Advent calendar in the early 20th century, he replaced candles with small pictures or treats revealed one per day, so the act of opening a door or a window became a daily ritual of waiting made tangible.

Chocolate moved in because confectionery companies recognized that a small daily treat was far more compelling to a child than a paper picture. By the mid-20th century, the chocolate-filled version had largely taken over the mass market, and the Christian origin faded into the background for most buyers. Today the majority of people buying an Advent calendar are counting sleeps until presents and a holiday, not observing a liturgical season.

Where Meghan's calendar sits in that history

The As Ever calendar follows the same logic: 24 compartments, one opened each day, building anticipation toward Christmas. The structure is pure Advent calendar tradition. The contents, handcrafted Compartés dark chocolate ganache truffles and flavored chocolates finished in edible gold, are a long way from the chalk marks on a wall that German families used in the 1800s, which is exactly why Reverend Daniel French objected. His criticism wasn't really about chocolate. It was about a sacred season of reflection being repurposed as a $148 luxury product, when a £5.99 Christian calendar sits on the same shelf and serves the original purpose.

The format is Advent's. The price tag is entirely Meghan's.