Countries
all across the world celebrate the winter solstice holiday season in their own
unique ways. Some such as Christmas and Hanukah are religious celebrations, while
others are non-religious celebrations of nature, people and the coming spring
solstice. The reasoning behind the various holiday celebrations can sometimes
differ greatly, but there are a surprising number of commonalities among the celebratory
traditions. Over the thousands of years that man has celebrated the season, each
group influenced others with their traditions.
Today each country and faith
celebrates the holiday in their own unique ways, but more often than not you can
detect common themes shared between countries. In this article we will take a
closer look at how Christmas is celebrated in Germany, during which you will see
that their traditions are not unlike those shared by England and America.
The
youth in many countries celebrate a beloved mystical figure such as Santa Claus
and Germany is no different; the German equivalent of America's Santa and England's
Father Christmas is none other than the kindly Kris Kringle. Unlike Santa, Kris
Kringle is not responsible for passing out gifts to excited children - that duty
is reserved by another holiday figure: Christkind.
In Germany children
will write letters to Christkind (translated as the Christ Child), much like American
children send letters to Santa in the North Pole. The German children place their
letters into an envelope heavily adorned with glue and sugar. These envelopes
are placed on windowsills where they can glitter in the gentle light of the moon.
And
as if the German youth didn't already celebrate enough kindly eternal figures
there is yet one more: Saint Nicholas! Traditionally children will stuff their
shoes with hay, straw or carrots every Christmas Eve and leave them on their doorsteps.
When Saint Nicholas rides by later that evening on his proud white stallion he
stops momentarily by each door so that his stallion can feed on the treats left
behind. To thank the generous children, Saint Nicholas will replace the eaten
hay and/or carrots with delicious candies.
Few things capture the holiday
spirits of people better than the age-old Christmas tree. While millions of people
set up their Christmas tree each and every year, a good portion of them don't
even realize that the tradition originated from Germany. Germans love their Christmas
trees just as much as Americans and Englishmen in fact it's not uncommon to see
more than one tree in a German household!
There are conflicting myths about
how the Christmas tree first came to be, but one of the most common stories tells
the tale of an old woodcutter that stumbled across a young hungry child in the
woods. He stopped chopping trees for a bit to befriend and feed the child. Once
their meal was finished the two went on their separate ways.
Early during
the next morning the child appeared in front of the woodcutter and his wife in
the form of a spirit. He identified himself as Christkind and thanked the surprised
woodcutter for his act of kindness on the previous day. To repay the woodcutter's
good will, Christkind gave him the sprig of an evergreen tree and told him the
tree from which the sprig came would bear fruit year round. In response to this
miraculous incident, each year Germans started felling evergreen trees each winter
and decorating them with ornaments, candies, candles and more.
Once Thanksgiving
arrives in America you can be sure of one thing: virtually every mall and shopping
outlet will be adorned with many festive Christmas decorations. Germans know how
to kick the holiday shopping system into high gear too in fact they have a name
for this tradition: Kriskringlemart. During this time vendors and merchants will
line the various town streets and offer special sales for Christmas. The festive
decorations, scents and sounds of the holiday create a true feast for the senses.
What
Christmas would be complete without a seemingly endless assortment of tasty foods
and drinks? If you were to celebrate Christmas while in Germany you would have
your fill of indulgent treats such as spiced cakes, cookies, handmade candies
and cocoa. Although all the above are enough to satisfy the palate there are two
specialties Germans are renowned for: gingerbread and gluwein (which is a spiced
red wine). Bakers also produce a special type of dough called Christbaumgeback,
which is molded into various shapes and hung on Christmas trees as adornments.
Each
country has their own festive traditions that take place during the winter holiday
season, but few are quite as memorable as Christmas in Germany. Those lucky enough
to vacation in this wonderful country during the holiday season will leave with
memories that will last them a lifetime.
Copyright Jared Winston, 2005.
All Rights Reserved. Celebrate
the Christmas Season all year round at Christmas
Revelry, a site where festive souls can learn more about the holiday season
and pick up some fun ideas that will make your Christmas more cheerful. http://www.christmasrevelry.com |
