German Christmas traditions
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German Christmas traditions include the customs, folklore, history, family practices, and religious and secular symbols associated with this holiday. The Christmas season in Germany starts at the beginning of Advent, which is four Sundays before Christmas Day. In fact, Advent wreaths are one of the many symbolic German Christmas traditions. These wreaths are decorated with four candles around the outer circle, sometimes adding one more, larger candle in the middle. One candle is lit the first Sunday of Advent with two being lit the second Sunday and so on. The large candle in the center, if present, is lit on Christmas Day.
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[edit] Christmas tree
The Christmas tree is often explained[citation needed] as a Christianization of the ancient pagan idea that the evergreen tree represents a celebration of the renewal of life. In Roman mosaics from what is today Tunisia, showing the mythic triumphant return from India of the Greek god of wine and male fertility, Dionysus (dubbed by some modern scholars as a life-death-rebirth deity), the god carries a tapering Matt Tree. Medieval legends, nevertheless, tended to concentrate more on the miraculous "flowering" of trees at Christmas time. A branch of flowering Glastonbury thorn is still sent annually for the Queen's Christmas table in the United Kingdom.
Patron trees (for example, the Irminsul, Thor's Oak and the figurative Yggdrasil) held special significance for the ancient Germanic tribes, appearing throughout historic accounts as sacred symbols and objects. Among early Germanic tribes the Yule tradition was celebrated by sacrificing male animals and slaves by suspending them on the branches of trees. According to Adam of Bremen, in Scandinavia the pagan kings sacrificed nine males of each species at the sacred groves every ninth year. According to one legend, Saint Boniface attempted to introduce the idea of trinity to the pagan tribes using the cone-shaped evergreen trees because of their triangular appearance.
The modern custom, however, although likely related[citation needed], cannot be proven to be directly descended from pagan tradition. It can be traced to the 16th century Holy Roman Empire; Ingeborg Weber-Keller (Marburg professor of European ethnology) identified as the earliest reference a Bremen guild chronicle of 1570 which reports how a small fir was decorated with apples, nuts, dates, pretzels and paper flowers, and erected in the guild-house, for the benefit of the guild members' children, who collected the dainties on Christmas day. Another early reference is from Basel, where the taylor apprentices carried around town a tree decorated with apples and cheese in 1597. The city of Riga, Latvia claims to be home of the first holiday tree, an octagonal plaque in the town square reads "The First New Years Tree in Riga in 1510", in eight different languages. During the 17th century, the custom entered family homes. One Strasbourg priest, Johann Konrad Dannerhauer, complains about the custom as distracting from the word of God. By the early 18th century, the custom had become common in towns of the upper Rhineland, but it had not yet spread to rural areas. Wax candles are attested from the late 18th century. The Christmas tree remained confined to the upper Rhineland for a relatively long time.
[edit] St. Nikolaus
When Germany was being Christianized in the early Middle Ages, St. Nicholas, a 4th century bishop of Asia Minor, became popular there. St. Nicholas is the patron saint of children and his feast day is December 6th. Gradually a custom grew up where on the eve of St. Nicholas' feast day children would place their shoes or boots out for St. Nicholas to fill with candy and fruit, with the bad children getting twigs. St. Nicholas carried with him a book of sins with which he determined whether the child warranted the goodies or the twigs. Historically, St. Nicholas rode a white horse and he traveled with a dark-faced companion, most commonly called Knecht Ruprecht, although several other names were used for him in some parts of Germany. After the Protestant Reformation in Germany, German authorities wanted to do away with the image of a Catholic saint distributing gifts, so the idea of Santa Claus was born. Also created were the white beard, red suit, and sleigh. St. Nicholas is known by several names in different parts of Germany. These include Klaasbuur, Rauklas, Bullerklaas, and Sunnercla. In the eastern part of Germany, he is Ash Man, Shaggy Goat, or Rider. The name Kris Kringle is a corruption of the German term Christkindl ("Christ Child"). Saint Nicholas is now known primarily in Germany as Weihnachtsmann or Father Christmas. He increasingly no longer appears on December 6th but on Christmas Eve instead, while most German children still polish their shoes or boots and put them out on the doorstep during the night between the 5th and 6th, only to find them stuffed with little presents on the morning of the 6th which Nikolaus, the modern day St. Nicholas, still places for them to this day. German children therefore distinctly distinguish between the Weihnachtsmann (Santa Claus) and the Nikolaus (St. Nick). The scenario is comparable to the US-American tradition of Christmas stockings over the fireplace. For other European countries like the Netherlands the 6th of December is still the biggest day of the season for receiving presents, in this case by very own version, Sinterklaas.
[edit] Christmas Eve
The main celebration of Christmas, including caroling, lighting up the Christmas tree for the first time, the giving and opening of presents, and for many families, a visit to church either before or after the family celebration, happens on Christmas eve (rather than on the following Morning). This tradition is so strong, that the Word "Weihnachten" (Christmas), unless noted otherwise, refers to December 24th more than to December 25th.
[edit] Week-long collapse of public life
On noon of Christmas eve, most stores and workplaces close down. The next two days (the 25th and 26th of December) are public holidays, where except for emergency services almost nobody works at his job. On new year's eve people again work until noon, and new years' day is another holiday. Especially in years where an additional week-end occurs between those holidays, very little work is done in this time, with many shops and factories closed down completely and requiring their workers to take vacation on the remaining work-days.
[edit] Food and drink
Food and drink play a major role in the German Christmas celebration. In cities throughout Germany there are Christmas markets. In these Christmas markets one can enjoy all types of delicious Christmas edibles and beverages. Christmas goodies, from Lebkuchen (gingerbread) to Weihnachtsstollen (fruit bread) are plentiful. And the aroma of Glühwein ("glow wine"), a hot mulled wine that is drunk by adults, fills the air; "Kinderglühwein", an non-alcohlic variant made from fruit juice, is usually sold at the same places as well. On Christmas Day many German families sit down and enjoy a plump roast goose for dinner, traditionally stuffed with apples and dried plums, and often acoompanied by red cabbage, potato dumplings, and the sauce of the goose.
[edit] Three Magi
Tradition makes January 6th the day the three Magi came to visit the Christ Child. This is a public holiday in some of the federal States of Germany, and it marks the end of the month and a half long Christmas celebration. Christmas trees are traditionally removed either then or on February 2nd, the day when the visit of Mary and Joseph to the temple in Jerusalem is commemorated.
[edit] Windows
In the upper ore mountain villages, decorated windows transform the cities in Christmas time.
Once the devils and evil spirits were believed to have left the house, fine incense was burned to bless the hearth and home. Over the years, all kinds of Matthews (smoking men) were designed, because its safer to burn the fume candles in the interior. The smoker consits of two parts: on the lower part, an aromatic candle is placed andt lit. Then the upper part, which is hollowed out, is put on top of it. Because smoke from the candle rises inside the holloaw part of them smoker, it comes out of the mouth. They repreesent folrk figures, professionals, heroes, and forest workers.
[edit] Sources
- Hal Siemer (2006). O Tannenbaum: Many American Christmas Traditions Are German. Quest Magazine. Retrieved Sep. 28, 2006.
