Christmas in Germany: A Special Time of Year
Christmas in Germany is a special time of the year, and if you haven't yet experienced the celebrations within that proud country you'll want to try and do so sometime in the future. Each country celebrates the season with their own flavors and traditions, and among these many would argue that Germany ranks right up there among the best.
Germany shares two major religions; it is predominately Lutheran in the north and Catholic in the south around the Bavarian province. Despite the different religions, the traditions both follow during their Christmas celebrations are very similar.
England made the use of the Christmas tree popular, but the tradition actually began in Germany, and it's a tradition that still holds strong to this day; you will find a spruce or fir in virtually every German home during the Christmas season. In fact like many American homes, often more than one tree will be found… often several!
The Christmas preparations begin on December 6 th when families begin making gifts and decorations and baking special spiced cakes and cookies to be enjoyed during Christmas celebrations.
Around this time most towns also begin their Kriskringlemart, a time when vendors will line the streets and merchants start offering special sales for Christmas. A visitor walking these sidewalks can purchase cakes and candies, sip on steaming cups of cocoa or spiced red wine called gluwein (pronounce the "w" as a "v") or just take in the festive decorations that adorn the various shops. Oh yes, you also just might bump into the beloved Kris Kringle.
Who is Kris Kringle? To put it simply, he America's equivalent of Santa Claus and England's equivalent of Father Christmas. But unlike Americans and Englishmen, German children do not celebrate just that one figure; they also leave letters on their windowsills for Christkind, a legendary robed figure that dons a gold crown and wings. According to tradition, Christkind is a messenger sent by the Christ Child to the children of Germany, and each year he leaves gifts behind for the youngsters.
No German Christmas celebration would be even close to complete without their special, indulgent foods. Germans are well renowned for gingerbread houses and cookies, a tradition put on full display during the Christmas season. Bakers also go so far as to produce a dough called Christbaumgeback which is molded into various shapes, baked and then placed on the Christmas tree.
Other tree adornments include wreaths of holly as well as four red candles placed in the center of the tree. Each Sunday of December the children will light one of the red candles, reserving the final candle for Christmas Eve. The final candle serves as a countdown to the joyous Christmas Day.
But we've been sidetracked from the subject of food, so let's return there once again. If you have a sweet tooth then you'll be glad to know that Germans take their Christmas candies very seriously. Adults and children alike receive chocolates of the highest quality on Christmas, though adults are often treated with a special chocolate containing brandy in the center.
Germans have celebrated Christmas for many centuries, long before the season became known as Christmas. The modern celebration of Christmas was originally rooted in the Winter Solstice celebration of the pagan Germanic people. When these people became Christians after the birth of Christ they altered many of their pagan traditions to fit in with Christ's birth.
A little known fact is that during World War I the American and German forces declared a truce for the holiday, each leaving their own trenches to visit with each other and share liquor and Christmas cheer. Since Christmas is a time to celebrate peace on earth, it made perfect sense for even former enemies to put aside their disagreements for just one day to share camaraderie and traditions.