Christmas in Germany
By Regina Vonrueden
Christmas Tree
Photo: Regina Vonrueden
There are many different ways of how to celebrate Christmas in the world, and some of them seem to be typically German, which doesn't mean much, as the world wide community gets closer day by day. Of course, we know about Santa Claus, but in Germany, there is also another person to deliver gifts and presents. You will learn more about it below!
Advent Sundays
The four Sundays before Christmas Eve have a special significance. For every Sunday, you light a candle on your Advent wreath. The wreath is normally made of small fir boughs and decorated with whatever symbols of Christmas are appropriate for the respective person.
Advent Calendar
At the start of December, children (and sometimes even grown-up adults like me) get their Advent calendars. In the Advent Calender there is hidden a little surprise for every day from Dec. 1st to Dec. 24th which is to prepare you for the "bigger" presents you might get on Christmas Eve.. This can be a small picture for the most simple calendars, or some chocolate, some other sweets, or whatever the person who made the calendar wanted to surprise you with.
Nikolaus
Statue of St. Nikolaus
Photo: Regina Vonrueden
I always wondered if Santa Claus might be the changed form of St. Nikolaus. At least they seem to wear the same clothes.
On the sixth day of December, St. Nikolaus brings sweets for the good children, which he usually leaves in their boots, or if they haven't any suitably big ones, in nice decorated bags. A typical Nikolaus bag would contain nuts, fruits, some chocolate and cookies.
St. Nikolaus also has an assistant. His name is "Knecht Ruprecht', who carries a rod of boughs. It is said that he will beat the bad and nasty children with it, if you haven't been well-behaved during the year. So it's either sweets or the rod. Yet, as there are only good children around, Knecht Ruprecht almost never needs to use his rod.
Christmas Market
Witten Christmas Market
Photo: Regina Vonrueden
In almost all German cities, there is a Christmas Market. Most seem to be bigger than the one in my hometown, Witten, a city of 100,000 in North Rhine-Westphalia. But in Witten, there is huge Advent Calendar and huts with Christmas scenes or fairy tale scenes. The market is situated on the Town Hall Square and the town hall is also decorated with lights.
Christmas
In Germany, St. Nikolaus has already had a lot of work to do work by the time Christmas Eve is near. So there's someone else to take the Christmas presents to everyone.
Christmas Tree
Photo: Regina Vonrueden
It's the "Christkind" (Baby Jesus). Yet - and I absolutely haven't got the slightest idea why - Christkind is always portrayed as a little girl, looking like an angel! But the best thing is, that Christkind does his/her work on Dec. 24th, in the afternoon, so that we really get our presents on that day, and not on the first Christmas Day. Apart from the individual christmas presents, most people get a special plate full of sweets and chocolate Nikolauses (again!)
Of course, most families have a nicely decorated christmas tree with candles and all kinds of glittering decorations.
Regina Vonrueden lives in Witten, Germany. Her interests include chess, reading and fantasy roleplaying games. 