CHRISTMAS IN GERMANY
Christmas is a magical time in Germany. In Germany, people say, “Frohe Weihnachten,” or Happy Christmas. The German people begin celebrating the Christmas Season on December 1st and celebrate it all the way until January 6th! Many of the Christmas traditions we have in the United States came from German immigrants who moved from Germany to the U.S. The people of Germany also have many wonderful traditions that we don’t have here.
ADVENT
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In Germany, the Christmas season is called Advent. Advent is the time leading up to Christmas in the Christian calendar, and it's a time to prepare for the birth of Jesus. The word "advent" comes from the Latin word adventus, which means "coming" or “arrival”. Germans celebrate advent in many ways. You may recognize some of these traditions, because they are also traditions in the United States.
Advent Calendars
Children in Germany love to count down to Christmas by making and using Advent Calendars. Advent calendars are December calendars with doors or boxes for each day on the calendar. Children open one box or door a day to count down until Christmas.
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Advent Wreaths
Adults in Germany also have a tradition of counting down to Christmas. Advent wreaths are wreaths that sit on a table as a centerpiece with 4 candles. Usually 3 candles are purple and one is a light pink. The candles represent the four Sundays in Advent. Each Sunday during Advent, one candle is lit until all four are lit. Some homes light a fifth white candle on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day to represent the birth of Jesus.
Adults in Germany also have a tradition of counting down to Christmas. Advent wreaths are wreaths that sit on a table as a centerpiece with 4 candles. Usually 3 candles are purple and one is a light pink. The candles represent the four Sundays in Advent. Each Sunday during Advent, one candle is lit until all four are lit. Some homes light a fifth white candle on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day to represent the birth of Jesus.
CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS
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There is no doubt when Christmas has come in Germany. Homes and buildings in every town are decorated with Nativity scenes, Christmas trees, ornaments, wreaths, candles, lights, nutcrackers, and gingerbread houses.
Christmas Trees
Did you know our tradition of putting up Christmas trees came from Germany? In Germany, Christmas Trees are called der Weihnachtsbaum or Tannenbaum, which is actually translated as fir tree. The tradition is believed to have started with Martin Luther, the first protestant preacher, who was inspired to decorate a tree with candles after seeing the stars twinkling among evergreens on a winter evening. German immigrants brought the tradition of the Christmas tree to the United States in the 1700s and 1800s.
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Candles
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Candles are used in Germany to celebrate the Christmas season in a number of ways. You already learned about the Advent wreath and how Christmas trees originally were decorated with candles. Another candle tradition in Germany is Schwibbogen windows. |
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A Schwibbogen is a wooded candle arch that is placed in a window. The tradition began in German mining towns. Miners worked long hours underground and when the nights became longer around the beginning of Advent, many miners would not get off until after dark. Without light all day, miners sometimes became disoriented and would get lost in the forest on the way home. So miners’ families would light a Schwibbogen in the winter to guide their miner home. Schwibbogen windows are now a tradition all over Germany that mark the beginning of the Christmas Season. The tradition of candles in the window at Christmas symbolize welcomeness and hope. So the tradition spread all over the world.
View the slideshow of Schwibbogen windows by clicking on the slideshow to the right. |
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Christmas Wreaths
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The ancient Germans and Scandinavians first used wreaths to celebrate the Yuletime or the winter solstice. When Christianity came to the region, the wreath became a meaningful symbol of Christmas. The circular shape of a wreath represented eternal life. The holly leaves and berries symbolized Christ's crown of thorns and blood. Today, Christmas wreaths are still used to decorate at Christmas time, not only in Germany, but all over the world. |
Scherenschnitte
Scherenschnitte translated as paper cutting, is a tradition where Christmas shapes like bells and nativity scenes are cut out of paper. Sometimes the shapes are 3D. Other times an image is cut like a stencil and then different colored transparent paper is put behind the openings to make it look like stained glass.
View the slideshow of Scherenschnitte (paper cutting) by clicking on the slideshow below.
View the slideshow of Scherenschnitte (paper cutting) by clicking on the slideshow below.
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Ornaments
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Since Christmas trees originated in Germany, so did Christmas tree ornaments. Originally ornaments were simply fruits and nuts. Eventually, ornaments were made of paper, fabric, and carved wood. By the 1800s, glassblowers and metal workers were making glass and metal ornaments. A man named Hans Greiner was the first to manufacture glass ball ornaments, called baubles. Today, there are German towns that specialize in hand crafting Christmas Tree Ornaments using different materials. Every ornament on a German Christmas tree has a story behind it. It has meaning or sentiment. These stories are shared with extended family and friends who come over during the Christmas season.
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Nutcrackers
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On December 18, 1892, a famous ballet called, “The Nutcracker” first premiered at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia. A famous composer named Peter Tchaikovsky wrote the music, so many people believe that nutcrackers originated in Russia. Nutcrackers, however, did not come from Russia. They came from Germany! In the 17th century, the mining industry began to decline and miners turned to wood carving to earn a living. At first, nutcrackers were animal figures, but when war broke out in Germany, wood crafters began making soldier nutcrackers to mock the soldiers in their towns. Click on the nutcracker link here to learn more about the history of Nutcrackers. View the slideshow of Nutcrackers by clicking on the slideshow to the left. |
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Tinsel
Do you use tinsel to decorate your Christmas tree? Well, this is another tradition that came from Germany. In the 1600s, the people of Nuremberg, Germany made tinsel from thin strips of silver that were hammered into strands. It represented the starry night over the Nativity scene. The silver was used to reflect candlelight on Christmas trees, and was a sign of wealth because silver was expensive. Over time, poorer people began creating their own tinsel with cheaper materials like copper, tin, and aluminum. Soon after, tinsel came to represent the icicles on evergreen trees commonly seen during Christmas time in Germany.
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Stockings
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Do you know why we hang Christmas stockings by the fireplace at Christmas? It all started with a man who lived in the first century in modern day Turkey. Nicholas of Myra was a Christian priest who was known for helping children and the poor. By the 1400s, he was declared a Catholic saint and stories of his kindness had spread all throughout Europe. In Germany, one story created a tradition that is still practiced today. It was said that one Christmas Eve, St. Nicholas went to the homes of poor people and threw bags of gold coins through the windows. One of the bags landed in a young woman’s stocking that was drying by the fire. The gold helped the family’s daughter afford to marry. So German children began hanging their socks by the fireplace in hopes that St. Nicholas would throw treats, toys, or money into their socks. In America, St. Nicholas is called, “Santa Claus” and children hang their stockings by the fire place so that Santa will put treats and toys inside.
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Gingerbread Houses
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Did you know that the Gingerbread House originally had nothing to do with Christmas at all? In 1812, two brothers, Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm wrote a book. It was a collection of fairy tales called, “The Brothers’ Grimm.” One of the stories in the book was called, “Hansel and Gretel.” You are probably familiar with this story. The witch in the story attracts the children with her gingerbread house decorated with candy. Gingerbread was always a food made at Christmas in Germany. After the fairy tale came out, the Gingerbread house became a German Christmas tradition. Today, people all over the world have national gingerbread competitions at Christmas time. |
CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS
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Some German traditions are very specific to Germany. You may recognize many German Christmas traditions in Germany because German immigrants brought these traditions to America, and there is one tradition you may practice as a German tradition that is actually an urban legend!
Christmas Presents
Even though the idea of Christmas presents did not originate in Germany, many of the presents we give at Christmas did come from Germany like mugs, mechanical music boxes, nutcrackers, and clocks. Snow globes that are popular gift at Christmas originated in Austria, a German speaking country next to Germany. Other presents like German incense smokers, prune people, and Cuckoo clocks are unique to Germany.
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Prune People
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Zwetschgenmännla translated as Prune People are cute doll-like creations made of dried plums, nuts, raisins, and figs created as children's toys by Croatian cavalrymen during the Thirty Years War. Prune People are considered to be family patron saints, and are placed in windows to protect the people inside. These dolls are still a popular Christmas gift for children. |
Weihnachtsmärkte
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Weihnachtsmärkte or christmas markets are street markets that pop up during the four weeks of Advent in German towns and cities. The first true Christmas market was the Dresdner Striezelmarkt, held in 1434. Christmas markets are similar to county fairs in America. Store tents of handmade goods and foods line the streets of the town or city and a huge Christmas tree is decorated in the center of the market. Most markets have incredible light displays and amusement park rides as well. The Nuremberg Christkindlesmarkt in Nuremberg, Germany is one of the oldest and most famous Christmas Markets in the world. Today, Christmas markets are a tradition all over the world!
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Christmas Pickle
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There is a fable or urban legend that has spread all over the world that Germany has a tradition of hanging a Christmas Tree ornament in the shape of a pickle, called the German Christmas Pickle. The urban legend started as a marketing scheme in the 1880s. The F. W. Woolworth Company had imported glass ornaments from Germany that were shaped like fruits and vegetables. To sell more ornaments, a clever salesman created a story that the pickle was a German tradition. Today, many people have pickles on their tree because they believe it to be a German tradition! In fact, most German people have never even heard of the German Christmas Pickle! |
Das Christkind Parade
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The Christkind parade is a German Christmas tradition where a young girl is chosen to represent the Christkind, or "Christ Child", to lead the Christmas parade. The Christkind is an angel-like figure who delivers gifts to children in German-speaking countries. The Christkind is often depicted as a young girl with blond hair, a white and gold dress, a gold crown, and sometimes wings. The parade features hundreds of children dressed as angels and shepherds. They walk in a procession through the city, singing Christmas songs and performing the nativity scene.
You can watch a clip of a Christkind Parade by playing the video on the right. |
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Christmas Music Sternsinger
Many of the Christmas Carols we sing today originated in Germany. Silent Night, Oh Christmas Tree, Away in a Manager, Ode to Joy, and Come All Ye Faithful all came from Germany. Austrian composer Franz Schubert wrote “Ave Maria,” a song often sung at Christmas about Mary the mother of Jesus.
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Watch this young German girl perform Ave Maria on Germany's show, "Kids' Voice."
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Play the video above to listen to Silent Night sung in German.
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Sternsinger
In Germany, children and young people, called Sternsinger, or Star Singers, go from house to house in Germany, Austria, and other German-speaking regions to collect donations for children in need, sing carols, and bless homes with white chalk. Because this tradition takes place around the feast of the Epiphany, or Three Wise Men, the Sternsinger are dressed as the Three Kings, carrying a star, incense, and holy water.
To see German Star Singers caroling in Germany, watch the videos below.
To see German Star Singers caroling in Germany, watch the videos below.
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Pealing of the Bells
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Many churches in Germany ring their church bells on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, but in Frankfurt, Germany they have a very special tradition. On Christmas Eve, 50 bells from 10 churches ring out in unison for 30 minutes. Vendors sell apple cider, hot chocolate, and treats and people from all over come to hear the bells.
Want to hear what it sounds like to hear the bells in Frankfurt on Christmas Eve? Play the video to the right. |
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CHRISTMAS FOODS
German households enjoy all kinds of wonderful foods at Christmas time.
Christmas Dinner
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The main meat served at a traditional German Christmas is either roasted goose or beef rouladen. Roasted goose tastes a little like duck or dark turkey meat. Beef rouladen is slices of beef filled, rolled, and braised in a rich gravy made with mustard, bacon, onions and pickles. Some side dishes include red cabbage, dumplings, pretzel dumplings, sauerkraut casserole, warm potato salad, and potato pancakes.
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Desserts
There are several sweet treats enjoyed at Christmas time.
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Watch the slideshow above to see pictures of all the yummy desserts!
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Cookies
Other yummy desserts include:
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Foods You Didn’t Know Came From Germany
Many of the treats you enjoy at Christmas and all year came from Germany.
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Candy Canes
It is said that candy canes were invented in the late 1600s by a choirmaster at Cologne Cathedral. The choirmaster convinced a local candy maker to bend sugar sticks into the shape of a shepherd’s crook. He gave the candy to restless children to keep them still and quiet during church! Gummy Bears In 1922, Hans Riegel, the founder of the German candy company Haribo, invented gummy bears. Riegel was inspired by the trained bears that performed at festivals and markets in Germany. |
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