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German Christmas Traditions
Countries all across the world
celebrate the winter solstice holiday season in their
own unique ways. Some such as Christmas and Hanukah
are religious celebrations, while others are non-religious
celebrations of nature, people and the coming spring
solstice. The reasoning behind the various holiday celebrations
can sometimes differ greatly, but there are a surprising
number of commonalities among the celebratory traditions.
Over the thousands of years that man has celebrated
the season, each group influenced others with their
traditions.
Today each country and faith celebrates the holiday
in their own unique ways, but more often than not you
can detect common themes shared between countries. In
this article we will take a closer look at how Christmas
is celebrated in Germany, during which you will see
that their traditions are not unlike those shared by
England and America.
The youth in many countries celebrate a beloved mystical
figure such as Santa Claus and Germany is no different;
the German equivalent of America's Santa and England's
Father Christmas is none other than the kindly Kris
Kringle. Unlike Santa, Kris Kringle is not responsible
for passing out gifts to excited children - that duty
is reserved by another holiday figure: Christkind.
In Germany children will write letters to Christkind
(translated as the Christ Child), much like American
children send letters to Santa in the North Pole. The
German children place their letters into an envelope
heavily adorned with glue and sugar. These envelopes
are placed on windowsills where they can glitter in
the gentle light of the moon.
And as if the German youth didn't already celebrate
enough kindly eternal figures there is yet one more:
Saint Nicholas! Traditionally children will stuff their
shoes with hay, straw or carrots every Christmas Eve
and leave them on their doorsteps. When Saint Nicholas
rides by later that evening on his proud white stallion
he stops momentarily by each door so that his stallion
can feed on the treats left behind. To thank the generous
children, Saint Nicholas will replace the eaten hay
and/or carrots with delicious candies.
Few things capture the holiday spirits of people better
than the age-old Christmas tree. While millions of people
set up their Christmas tree each and every year, a good
portion of them don't even realize that the tradition
originated from Germany. Germans love their Christmas
trees just as much as Americans and Englishmen… in fact
it's not uncommon to see more than one tree in a German
household!
There are conflicting myths about how the Christmas
tree first came to be, but one of the most common stories
tells the tale of an old woodcutter that stumbled across
a young hungry child in the woods. He stopped chopping
trees for a bit to befriend and feed the child. Once
their meal was finished the two went on their separate
ways.
Early during the next morning the child appeared in
front of the woodcutter and his wife in the form of
a spirit. He identified himself as Christkind and thanked
the surprised woodcutter for his act of kindness on
the previous day. To repay the woodcutter's good will,
Christkind gave him the sprig of an evergreen tree and
told him the tree from which the sprig came would bear
fruit year round. In response to this miraculous incident,
each year Germans started felling evergreen trees each
winter and decorating them with ornaments, candies,
candles and more.
Once Thanksgiving arrives in America you can be sure
of one thing: virtually every mall and shopping outlet
will be adorned with many festive Christmas decorations.
Germans know how to kick the holiday shopping system
into high gear too… in fact they have a name for this
tradition: Kriskringlemart. During this time vendors
and merchants will line the various town streets and
offer special sales for Christmas. The festive decorations,
scents and sounds of the holiday create a true feast
for the senses.
What Christmas would be complete without a seemingly
endless assortment of tasty foods and drinks? If you
were to celebrate Christmas while in Germany you would
have your fill of indulgent treats such as spiced cakes,
cookies, handmade candies and cocoa. Although all the
above are enough to satisfy the palate there are two
specialties Germans are renowned for: gingerbread and
gluwein (which is a spiced red wine). Bakers also produce
a special type of dough called Christbaumgeback, which
is molded into various shapes and hung on Christmas
trees as adornments.
Each country has their own festive traditions that take
place during the winter holiday season, but few are
quite as memorable as Christmas in Germany. Those lucky
enough to vacation in this wonderful country during
the holiday season will leave with memories that will
last them a lifetime.
Copyright © Jared Winston, 2005. All Rights Reserved.
About the author:
Celebrate the Christmas Season all year round at Christmas
Revelry.com, a site where festive souls can learn more
about the holiday season and pick up some fun ideas
that will make your Christmas more cheerful. http://www.christmasrevelry.com
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