Christmas in Germany

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Christmas in Germany
A guide to how Christmas is celebrated in Germany.
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Songs and Carols
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EnglishSilent night, holy nightAll is calm
all is bright'Round yon virgin Mother and
ChildHoly infant so tender and mildSleep in
heavenly peaceSleep in heavenly peace
DEUTSCHStille Nacht, heilige Nacht,Alles
schläft einsam wachtNur das traute hochheilige
Paar.Holder Knabe im lockigen Haar,Schlaf in
himmlischer Ruh!Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh!
Music Franz Xaver Gruber, 1818Words Joseph
Mohr, 1816/1818
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Recipes
Lebkuchen Ingredients-------------
-------- 3-1/2 tbsp unpeeled
almonds3-1/2 tbsp hazelnuts1-1/4 cup flour1/4
cup 1 tbsp sugara pinch of salt1/2 cup 6
tbsp butter, cold and cut into small pieces2 egg
yolks5 packets vanilla sugar 1/2 cup powdered
sugar Cooking-----------------
---- Pour boiling water over the almonds,
remove the skins and finely chop. Finely chop the
hazelnuts. Sift the flour onto a large wooden
board. Make a well in the flour and add the
almonds, hazelnuts, sugar, salt, butter and egg
yolks. Knead dough until it is smooth and
pliable, but do not over knead. Wrap the dough
in aluminum foil and let rest for 2 hours in the
refrigerator. Preheat the oven to 375 F (200C).
Divide the dough and form into several
pencil-thick rolls. Cut the rolls into 2 inch
lengths and bend into crescent shapes. Place on
cookie sheets and bake on middle rack until
golden brown, about 10 minutes. Stir the vanilla
sugar and powdered sugar together in a shallow
bowl. Carefully dip the still warm crescent
cookies in the sugar. Tip to store the cookies
so they won't break, stack them lengthwise
between wax paper in a cookie tin.
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German StollenIngredients----------
-----------1/2 cup raisins 1/2 cup
candied red cherries, halved 1/4 cup currants
1/4 cup candied citron, diced 1/4 cup rum 4
1/2 cup flour2 yeast, active dry packages 1 cup
milk 1/4 cup butter or margarine
Cooking-------------------
--In a medium bowl combine raisins, cherries,
currants, citron or citrus peel, and rum. Set
aside. In a large mixer bowl combine 1-1/2 cups
of the flour and yeast. Heat milk, butter, sugar
and salt over low heat, stirring constantly until
warm (120F to 130F). Add to dry ingredients
along with eggs and fruit peels. Beat at low
speed of electric mixer for 1/2 minute, scraping
sides of bowl. Beat 3 minutes at high speed. Stir
in fruit-rum mixture, almonds and enough of the
remaining flour to make a soft dough. Turn out
onto a lightly floured surface and knead in
enough of the remaining flour to make a
moderately soft dough that is smooth and elastic
(5 to 6 minutes). Shape into a ball. Place in a
greased bowl, turning once. Cover. Let rise until
double (1 hour). Punch dough down. Divide in
half. Cover and let rest 10 minutes. On a
lightly floured surface roll each half to a
10x8-inch oval. Fold lengthwise in half so the
top half overlaps to within 1/2 inch of the
bottom half. Press folded edge firmly. Place
about 4-inches apart on greased baking sheet.
Cover and let rise until double (45 minutes).
Bake at 200 degrees Celsius for 15 to 20 minutes
or until golden brown. Cool. Serve sprinkled with
powdered sugar or spread with Confectioners'
Glaze and decorate with candied cherries. Makes 2
loaves. CONFECTIONERS' GLAZE Mix 1 cup sifted
powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon milk. Add more
milk, 1/2 teaspoon at a time, until spreading
consistency.  
1/4 cup sugar 1/2 tsp. salt 2 eggs 1 tbsp.
orange peel, finely shredded 2 tsp. lemon peel,
finely shredded 1/2 cup almonds, blanched chopped
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The story of St Nicholas.
The Man Behind the Story of Father Christmas St.
Nicholas was a Bishop who lived in the fourth
century AD in a place called Myra in Asia Minor
(now called Turkey). He was a very rich man
because his parents died when he was young and
left him a lot of money. He was also a very kind
man and had a reputation for helping the poor
and giving secret gifts to people who needed it.
There are several legends about St. Nicholas,
although we don't know if any of them are
true! The most famous story about St. Nicholas
tells how the custom of hanging up stockings to
get presents in first started! It goes like
this...
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The story of St Nicholas
There was a poor man who had three daughters. He
was so poor, he did not have enough money for a
dowry, so his daughters couldn't get married. (A
dowry is a sum of money paid to the bridegroom
by the brides parents on the wedding day. This
still happens in some countries, even today.) One
night, Nicholas secretly dropped a bag of gold
down the chimney and into the house (This meant
that the oldest daughter was then able to be
married.). The bag fell into a stocking that had
been hung by the fire to dry! This was repeated
later with the second daughter.
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The story of St Nicholas.
Finally, determined to discover the person who
had given him the money, the father secretly hid
by the fire every evening until he caught
Nicholas dropping in a bag of gold. Nicholas
begged the man to not tell anyone what he had
done, because he did not want to bring attention
to himself. But soon the news got out and when
anyone received a secret gift, it was thought
that maybe it was from Nicholas. Because of his
kindness Nicholas was made a Saint. St. Nicholas
is not only the saint of children but also of
sailors! year.
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Photographs.
                                                
            The Gendarmenmarkt Christmas Market
in Berlin.
A German Christmas tree
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Photographs.
Lebkuchen christmas biscuits
Someone dressed as St Nicholas
Traditional German Dinner
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Photographs.
A typical town square at Christmas
Christmas Market Stall
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German Christmas Traditions
Advent Advent marks the beginning of the build-up
to Christmas, starting on the Sunday after 26th
of November. It begins with quiet contemplative
days in November, but excitement and activity
increase as Christmas approaches, accompanied by
the usual shopping, preparation of special food
and Advent celebrations. The Advent Wreath
(Adventskranz) is a very popular decoration in
German homes. It consists of a circular wreath of
pine-branches with four candles on it. On the
first Sunday in Advent, the first candle on the
wreath is lit, two candles are lit on the
second, three on the third and all four on the
fourth Sunday, immediately prior to Christmas.
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St. Nicholas Day For children the highlight of
Advent is St. Nicholas Day (Nikolaustag) on 6th
of December. Originally children left hay and
straw for St. Nicholas horses but now they
simply put a shoe or boot outside their bedroom
door, window or by the fireplace on the evening
of 5th of December, hoping to find it full of
sweets, biscuits, nuts and fruit the next
morning. In appearance St. Nicholas is similar
to Father Christmas or Santa Claus, dressed in a
red gown, with a white beard, boots and a
sack. 
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                        Christmas Eve Christmas
Eve (der Heilige Abend, literally the "Holy
Evening") is the climax of the German Christmas.
Shops and offices close at mid-day or 1pm, and
most people spend the afternoon at home in
preparation for the later celebrations. The tree
is decorated with straw stars, foil and glass
decorations, apples, gilded nuts, ring
biscuits, Lebkuchen (spicy biscuits), chocolate
or marzipan decorations, wooden angels, pine
cones, tinsel, and wax candles or electric
lights. Presents are placed either under the
tree, with the crib if there is one, or else on
the "present table" (der Gabentisch). When
everything is prepared, normally just after
dark, a little bell is rung as a signal that the
children may come in to see the lighted tree and
Receive their presents (die Bescherung). Before
the exchange of gifts takes place, the Christmas
story is often read by the light of the candles
and favourite Christmas carols are sung.   Since
the Middle Ages carp has been a traditional food
for the evening meal on Christmas Eve. However,
all kinds of food are eaten nowadays on Christmas
Eve evening. But the traditional Christmas foods
mentioned in the St. Nicholas rhyme, apples and
nuts and almonds (in the form of marzipan) still
remain favourite Christmas nibbles. Depending on
whether the family is Roman Catholic or
Protestant they will probably go to church at
midnight or in the late afternoon. The rest of
the evening is enjoyed as a family get-together,
with the children playing with new toys, and all
partaking of the Christmas goodies.
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Christmas Day December 25th is known as the
"First Day of Christmas" (der erste
Weihnachtstag) and, in comparison with the 24th
of December, is a quiet day, often spent either
visiting relatives or else being visited by
them. Goose is still widely eaten for the main
meal, but is by no means as obligatory a
Christmas dinner as turkey is in
Britain. December 26th, the "Second Day of
Christmas (der zweite Weihnachtstag) also
known as St. Stephens Day, has much the same
function as the day before, being another public
holiday and a day of family reunions or outings.
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Useful websites
http//whychristmas.com/cultures/index.shtml htt
p//www.santas.net/stnicholas.htm
http//www.germany-christmas-market.org.uk http
//www.germanculture.com.ua/library/links/christmas
.htm http//www.german-way.com/christmas.html