Christmas in Germany

Have you ever thought about traveling to Germany during the christmas time to spend a christmas in Germany?
If you haven't, maybe you should consider it.

You can have a wonderful time in the days prior to christmas in Germany.

Some of the best attractions are the christmas markets the Germans have in almost every city. They range in size from just a few booths in the smaller cities to the big famous markets in major cities. You can almost compare the bigger ones with fairs, because they have many attractions for everybody starting with a "karussel" for the kids going to so called "Glühwein" (mulled wine) for the adults. Every year they attract many local inhabitants and international travellers.

The Christmas market was held for the first time in Dresden. Since 1434, when the duke first allowed a meet market the day before Christmas Eve, people have been able to buy their christmas presents and food. Over the years artisans joined the market and it has also been used by poor people who tried to earn some money with their home-made handicrafts.

In 1471, the city of Dresden handed "Stollen", a special cake only eaten in the days before christmas in Germany, out to the poor people. This started a tradition and now you can't even think about a christmas market without "Stollen".
If you have some free time, which most people don't have the weeks before christmas, walk to the nearest market, go to a "Glühwein" booth and watch the people passing by. You can see glances in their eyes and everybody seems to have the same happiness.

The two markets I enjoyed the most when I walked through them are the "Christkindlesmarkt" in Nuremberg, which is probably the best known in the world and the "Striezelmarkt" in Dresden, which is the oldest christmas market.

Christmas in Germany: An explanation for the most important days

Advent

Advent marks the beginning of the christmas time and is celebrated the four Sundays before Christmas Eve. It begins with quiet contemplative days, but excitement and activity increase as Christmas approaches, when people start to realize that they still need to buy presents for their family and friends. The Advent Wreath (Adentskranz) is a very popular decoration in German homes. It consists of a circular wreath of pine-branches with four candles on it. On the first Advent , the first candle on the wreath is lit, two candles are lit on the second, three on he third and four on the fourth Sunday, immediately prior to Christmas.

St. Nicholas Day

For children the highlight of the weeks prior to Christmas Eve is St. Nicholas' Day (Nikolaustag) on December, 6th. They put a shoe or a boot outside their bedroom door, window or by the fireplace on the evening of December 5th, hoping to find it full of sweets, biscuits, nuts and fruit the next morning, which normally happens.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve (der heilige Abend) is the climax of Christmas in Germany. Shops and offices close around noon, and most people spend the afternoon at home in preparation for the later celebrations or in church. The tree is decorated with straw stars, foil and glass decorations. Some families have apples, gilded nuts, ring biscuits, Lebkuchen (spicy biscuits), chocolate or marzipan laying under it. Presents are placed either under the tree, with the crib if there is one, or else on the present table (Gabentisch). Before the gifts are exchanged, the Christmas story is often read by the light of the candles and favourite Christmas carols are sung.

Christmas Day

December 25th is known as the "First day of Christmas" (der erste Weihnachtsfeiertag) and, in comparison with 24th December, it is a quiet day, often spent visiting relatives. Goose is still widely eaten for the main meal, but it is not obligatory.

December 26th, the "Second day of Christmas" (der zweite Weihnachtsfeiertag) has much the same function as the day before, being a public holiday and a day of family reunions or outings.

Hints

It may be hard to travel the weeks before Christmas in Germany, because people are shopping or visiting relatives. If you stay longer than December 24th , then you might be able to get some "Schnaeppchen" the days after Christmas. Wouldn't it be nice to tell your neighbours that you bought your new watch on sale after Christmas in Germany?