Transcript German Christmas

German Christmas
By Heidi Thorne
When does it start?
The preparations
for Christmas
start before
December falls.
They make lots
of things from
decoration to
things that are
edible.
What happens on the 5th-6th of
December?
On the 5th of December is St. Nicolas Eve.
The children put a shoe or boot out side of
their front door and over night St. Nicolas
puts small objects inside. The next morning
is (6th of December) St. Nicolas Day were
the children go outside and see what they
have got in their shoe or boot, but he will
only give nice objects to the good children
if they have been bad they might get a
stick or a twig or something like that.
How do the Germans
decorate their houses?
Germans love to decorate their houses. They
will often have an Adventskranz which is a
wreath of leaves with four red candles on. On
each Sunday of advent they light one of the
candles. Quite a lot of homes will have a little
wooden cribs = a small model stable were
Jesus was born Mary, Joseph and the
animals are there to. They also have
Christmas trees.
What do they eat?
On Christmas day the tradition is to eat a
Carp (fish) or a Goose.
What happens on Christmas
Eve?
The Christmas tree is decorated on
Christmas Eve, so the children can not
see it because they believe the tree
holds mysterious spell.
German Christmas Markets
At Christmas markets in Germany
you can find lots of things. You
can find mould wine which is
wine warmed up with oranges
and spices added. You can also
find lots of Christmas gifts like
wooden chalets with special
illuminations.
The difference!!!
German Christmas is
about having fun and
looking at lots of things
and keeping tradition
alive. They start before
December and have a
St. Nicolas eve and St.
Nicolas day if they
have been good then
the get presents in
shoes or boots. They
have an advent wreath
that has candles on
and they light them
every Sunday. They
don’t decorate the tree
until the last moment
so the children don’t
see it and on Christmas
day the have goose or
carp.
In England we celebrate
Christmas slightly
differently. The shops start
selling things for it before
Christmas but until the end
of November no one really
thinks about it. From the
first of December we have
advent calendars that we
open everyday until
Christmas and we put our
tree up and decorate it then
we wait until Christmas eve
and we leave milk a carrot
some sherry and a mince
pie (that is what my family
does anyway) for Santa
Claws. We also go to the
Christingle at church. Then
on Christmas day we open
our presents and see the
family. For our Christmas
dinner we have turkey or
chicken.
German Speaking Countries
It’s not just Germany where they speak German.
Switzerland, Austria and Namibia do to.
Austria: Christmas begins
with the feast of St. Nicolas
on the 6th of Dec. Good
children get sweets, toys,
apples and nuts. Gifts
under the tree are only
opened after the meal on
Christmas eve. Baked carp
is served for the traditional
Christmas dinner.
Christmas trees are only
put up on 24th Dec and
only lit when Christ child
comes and gives the
children a gift.
Switzerland: Christkindi, an
angel in white robes and veiled
face and a jewelled crown,
arrives with silver bells tinkling
to announce Christmas. When
he enters the house the candles
on the tree are lit and he hands
out gifts. They have a tradition
of ringing the bells on midnight
mass. Another thing they do isat
dusk on the 6th of Dec the have
a feast. A feast of St. Nicolas.
German Speaking Countries
Namibia: Christmas in Namibia is a time of red meat. When
an Namibian is asked what he or she wants the average
answer is rain. Not for rain in the on coming year but on
Christmas day. Most people in Namibia celebrate Christmas.