Adventsfensters to Line Streets of New Glarus

In the month of December, residents and visitors to New Glarus will be able to view Adventsfensters throughout New Glarus. What is an Adventsfenster? In short, it is a life-size Advent calendar. Adventsfensters are common in the smaller towns and villages in Switzerland, and New Glarus resident Jacqueline Judd wants them to become a yearly feature during the holidays in New Glarus.
“It is in a lot of family’s tradition to gather and go to see the opening of the windows,” Judd says. “As an example, when I was a child we went to Lucerne to see the windows with my dad, and we also participated more than one year in the fun to “host” a window with my mom. In school we used to do all the school windows. I have many great memories of painting and crafting with family and school friends.”
So how does it work? In the month of December, up until Christmas (December 1-24), all over the village there will be 24 locations throughout the downtown business area, who will decorate one or more of their windows in a holiday/winter theme. During the decoration process and until the window is publicly revealed, the design stays hidden. Every evening a window will be revealed at a set time. People will be invited to gather in front of the building and how the window is revealed is up to the “window-opener.” Many times, music or a Christmas carol will be part of the ceremony and some people may offer a small snack or a hot drink. Once opened, the windows will stay lit every night until Christmas Eve. The tradition is to view twenty-three windows on Christmas Eve before heading to the opening of the final Adventsfenster window. There is an Advent Window Walk planned for Saturday, December 29th, for the community to join together and walk to view all the windows.
The twenty-four businesses participating are the New Glarus Chamber, the New Glarus Bakery, Hutch + Hide, Ruef’s, The Bramble Patch, the Rusty Raven, Edelweiss Cheese Shop, Lollygag Antiques, Railroad Street Boutique, Puempel’s Olde Tavern, The Vault, Mosher & Associates, S’Wisco Taphaus, Maple Leaf Cheese and Chocolate Haus, Hawk’s Mill Winery, Kinderladen, Restaino and Associates, Tofflers, the New Glarus Public Library, Art & Soul, Small World, Sugar River Flooring, Wisconsin Point of Sale and Grace Church.
“Adventsfensters are a big tradition and a little piece of home that I miss a lot,” says Judd, who is originally from Switzerland. “I feel it would be nice to get the community together to go out and see something different.”
If you have any questions, contact Jacqueline at jackie.judd.scheurer@gmail.com or check out their Facebook page by searching for New Glarus Adventsfensters.