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> And with that, I had to remind myself: Advent of Code isn't about there being 25 puzzles Really? The name of the event is "Advent of Code". Having 25 puzzles
by thaumasiotes 1y ago
> And with that, I had to remind myself: Advent of Code isn't about there being 25 puzzles
Really? The name of the event is "Advent of Code". Having 25 puzzles is easily its most strongly-determined aspect.
You could argue for 23-29 puzzles, or perhaps for 5, but at 12 what's the name supposed to refer to?
- eterm 1y agoWell advent calendars traditionally had 24 doors.
- majoe 1y agoThis lead me done a rabbit hole on wikipedia: Advent calendars in their earliest forms were invented approx. 80 years ago. The four week advent period goes back to the 7th century and was introduced by pope Gregory I..
- thaumasiotes 1y ago> This l[e]d me done a rabbit hole on wikipedia: > Advent calendars in their earliest forms were invented approx. 80 years ago. Well, Wikipedia starts its "History" section in 1945, which is 80 years ago. But what it says about advent calendars in 1945 is that they were lower-quality reprints of earlier designs. This strongly implies that they weren't a new concept in 1945. The German wikipedia is more interested in the concept and cites the word Adventskalenders to the novel Buddenbrooks, which features one set in the year 1869 but was published in 1901. Either way, the calendars were clearly an established cultural phenomenon well before 1945. Looking at the talk page (for the English article), it seems that the history section was provided by a "translation group" from their translation of a matching section of the German article. It's not clear why they began with the post-war period; the German page goes back much further than that, which was also true at the time they provided their translation. But this does explain why the English "history" section begins by referring to prior context that doesn't exist in the English article.
- this_user 1y agoThey still do in non-Anglo European countries where the main celebration is held on the evening of the 24th.
- matrss 1y agoIMO "Advent of Code" only determines the timeframe in which it happens, not the amount of puzzles it must contain. It could just as well be four puzzles, one for each sunday of the advent, or any other amount, as long as they are released within those roughly four weeks before christmas.
- danielbln 1y agoEh, the implication has always been that it's a Christmas calendar where you open one door per day until it's Christmas eve - just with code riddles instead of chocolate.
- roetlich 1y ago> one door per day until it's Christmas eve That would be 24.
- thaumasiotes 1y agoYou also open one on Christmas. Some people consider Christmas more important than Christmas eve. https://www.hallmark.com/house-and-home/figurines/precious-moments-nativity-advent-calendar-with-mini-figurines-and-storybook-251438.html https://www.hallmark.com/house-and-home/figurines/precious-m...
- atq2119 1y agoThat really depends on which country you're in.
- akho 1y agoTwelve nights of Christmas. Would also work better for me, calendar-wise :)
- ThunderSizzle 1y agoThat would "require" a timeline shift for it to start on Christmas run until the Ephinany. Although I don't think anyone really knows what the 12 days of Christmas are anymore.
- TeMPOraL 1y agoWe have a thing called "Three Kings" (aka. "three wise men") in Poland, that falls on Jan 6th. If My Math Is Correct™, there's 12 days between the Christmas day (Dec 25th) and Jan 6th, so maybe the song is about this period?
- dinkelberg 1y agoEpiphany (GP had a typo) and Three Kings is the same occasion, in fact. Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epiphany_(holiday) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epiphany_(holiday)
- akho 1y agoYes, and I would be glad to see such a shift. Shakespeare is still being read, I think.
- pfortuny 1y agoThis referes to the feast of the Epiphany, though, which is 12 nights after Christmas...
- akho 1y agoThat's why I say it would've worked better for me, yes.
- bigstrat2003 1y agoNo, Advent means that it goes for the four weeks prior to Christmas. It doesn't mean "one thing each day" during that duration.
- thaumasiotes 1y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advent_calendar https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advent_calendar Minimum one, sometimes two. (Also, Advent doesn't mean four weeks. Christmas might fall on a Monday.)
- riffraff 1y agoI assumed it was "twelve days of Christmas"- related
- thomascountz 1y agoI'm not arguing this point. I conceit, I thought the sentiment was obvious. If it wasn't—and if read literally—I thought that that statement was the weakest and most uninteresting part of what I shared. However, to my surprise, this statement, and its specific interpretation, is what people found compelling!