And now we come to insider information about German Christmas traditions:
Christmas is the most important family celebration in Germany. Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus, but the holiday is now celebrated in many families for whom the religious occasion is no longer a priority. Constanze Kleis wrote the book “Instructions for Christmas”. We asked her what goes into a Christmas celebration.
What equipment do you need for Christmas?
Officially: A Christmas tree, candles or fairy lights and Christmas tree decorations, a nativity scene, a certain repertoire of Christmas carols. Good food, baked goods like Christmas stollen or vanilla croissants. Sufficient generosity for gifts – including for the postman, the caretaker and for guests – who do not necessarily have to be related by blood.
Which pastries are typical for Christmas?
Cookies – “flat-shaped cakes”, as the word originally means – hold the undisputed top spot among Christmas treats. Today there are said to be 13,824 different types of cookies, the classic flavor ingredients being vanilla, cinnamon, chocolate, lemon, orange, coffee, rum, hazelnut, almond, walnut, ginger, cardamom, honey and the classic shapes croissant, curl, ball, Taler, heart and cuboid. Fillings mainly consist of chocolate, vanilla, jam or marzipan.
How does Christmas Eve, December 24th, traditionally work?
In principle, as Nobel Prize winner Thomas Mann described it in the 1901 novel “Buddenbrooks”: Everyone sings Christmas carols. Presents are then presented under a magnificent fir tree, “decorated with silver tinsel (…) there are presents everywhere.” Then an overwhelming abundance of food and drinks is served. In practice, the festival is no longer stuck in such a rigid corset. Christmas can be an all-round successful mix of just enough rituals to make you feel at home and in good hands.
What are the classic Christmas dishes?
According to surveys, potato salad with sausages still holds the pole position of favorite dishes on Christmas Eve. Closely followed by fondue and raclette. According to a survey, women in particular have invested an average of 288 hours in preparing for the holiday by Christmas Eve. Traditionalists serve the family a goose with dumplings and red cabbage on Christmas Day.
Which songs are sung at Christmas in Germany?
The Office for Christmas Carols in Graz, Austria, has around 12,000 relevant titles in its archive. Christmas carols are something like the master key to the Christmas spirit. 90 percent of Germans can’t get along without them. The most famous Christmas song in the world is undoubtedly “Silent Night”. It was first sung in Austria in 1818 and has been translated into over 300 languages and dialects to this day.
Is there a “modern” Christmas?
I would say that modern Christmas is characterized by a pleasant relaxation of customs. Fir? Maybe it doesn’t make that much ecological sense. Roast goose? Maybe too brutal for vegetarians. But the basic ideas of the festival are taken up: that it is good for the family to get together once a year to eat together. to spend time together. To make yourself happy with gifts – also in the form of closeness and security – and to use material things to signal: I have thought about you and your wishes.
