Popular Christmas Traditions and Christmas Decorations in Germany

Popular Christmas Traditions and Christmas Decorations in Germany

Christmas is a month of delight in Germany beginning with the start of Advent four Sundays prior to Christmas Eve. German's prepare for Christmas by baking, making gifts and decorating. Some evenings are especially set aside for the baking of treats like Lebkuchen with Egg White Icing, Stollen and spiced cakes. Glhwein (mulled red wine, lemons, cloves and cinnamon) or Feuerzangenbowle (mulled wine with ginger, oranges, brown rum and a sugar cone set aflame until the sugar melts) are often served on bake nights as well as enjoyed on cold evenings.

Children start off the holidays by opening up the first flap of their Advent calendar which counts down the four weeks leading up to Christmas. Each flap opens to reveal a piece of chocolate shaped into special Christmas symbols such as an angel or a bell. Some families set up an Advent Wreath with candles in the center on the same day. On each Sunday before Christmas, families light one candle and gather around the wreath to sing Christmas carols. Children put out their shoes on December 5th, Nikolaustag, in the hopes of finding presents the next morning. Good children receive small gifts, fruits, nuts and chocolates while naughty children receive a rod.

Some evenings are spent in the city center where big markets are set up, decorated and filled with vendors selling arts and crafts. People can enjoy a good meal of Backfisch (fried fish on fresh bread), grilled sausage and a mug of Glhwein as they wander. Stalls have toys, gifts and marzipan confections shaped like fruits, Christmas symbols and animals. Some markets also have nativity scenes to look at as well as performing musicians and dancers.

The tradition of the decorated Christmas tree is believed to have originated in Germany and Christmas wreaths first became popular in Germany. Christmas trees are decorated with strings of lights or real candles, homemade cookies, apples, nuts, special ornaments that have been handed down over the generations, tinsel and chocolates. Some families choose to have more than one Christmas tree while other families lock the tree and presents in a room. This room is opened at midnight on Christmas Eve to the delight of the children who see the tree glittering and sparkling, as well as presents underneath, for the first time.

The white Advent Candle is lit on Christmas Day. Families spend the day together, attend church and enjoy Christmas dinner. A traditional German Christmas dinner usually has Roast Goose, a dish which originated from Britain in the early 1600's. Carp is another popular Christmas dish as is Potato salad with Weiner. Side dishes include red cabbage, roast potatoes and kale. Dessert is an anticipated event with German specialties such as Christstollen, Marzipantorte and Rumkugeln to indulge in.

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