Christmas Projects - Christmas Crafts for all Ages

 

Dresden Striezelmarkt Pyramid
This is a beautiful example of Christmas wood work from the Erzgebirge region of Germany.

Christmas in Germany

Already the first signs of Christmas can be seen early in the stores. Usually around the end of September, goodies such as “Lebkuchen” and “Stollen” can be bought. The first pre-advent exibitions at the florist in November enable you to buy floral arrangements and advent wreaths to decorate the tables and the first large Christmas markets are also setting up before the first advent Sunday.

Though different regions of Germany have established their own customs throughout the centuries, most still celebrate Christmas generally the same way. On Christmas Eve in Germany, the stores generally close at 2 p.m. to give families a chance to spend more time together and to make it possible to go to afternoon church service. There are two Christmas days in Germany, meaning that the 25th and the 26th of December are both holidays and all of the stores are closed.

Here you can read about some traditions and see images of Christmas markets. Christmas Markets in Germany

German Christmas Markets
One must see the variety of Christmas markets in Germany. Each major city has its own and they usually run for four weeks. These are quite commercialized but also have stalls with handmade items as well. Glühwein or Mulled Wine is a traditional drink offered at all of the markets. This delicious spiced wine punch drink gets served hot. Perfect for a cold winter’s day when you are out doing holiday shopping and need to warm up.

Small Town Christmas Markets in North Germany

Small towns and villages normally have weekend markets which are quite charming. Our area of Germany is in the north in Schleswig-Holstein, which is the northernmost state of Germany and on the Danish border. A few large farms decorate their barns inside and out with their own Christmas markets. These last from 2 days up until 2 weeks. They are small yet charming and have a vintage feeling to them. Most charge a small entrance fee to cover the costs.At the small village markets and the farm markets, you will find lots of self made goodies, hand crafted items, and well selected country gifts.

The best time to go to any of these markets is at dusk. Most stay open until 6 or 7 p.m. and at that time in winter, it is already dark. The lit candles and the bonfires give the markets an added touch of warmth and comfort.

 

 

 

 

Christmas Markets in Germany

 

 

Lüneburg Christmas Market

The Lüneburg Christmas Market in Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony), Germany

Dresden Striezelmarkt Christmas Market 100

The “Striezelmarkt” Christmas Market in Dresden, Germany

Dresden Christmas Markets

Christmas Markets of Dresden, Germany

Rostock Christmas Market

The Rostock Christmas Market in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany

Hamburg Christmas Market

The Christmas Market in Hamburg, Germany

Christmas Market in Eutin, Germany

The Eutin Castle Christmas Market in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany

Lübeck Christmas Market

The Lübeck Christmas Market in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany

 

 

 

Advent Time

The Christmas season begins with the first advent Sunday. Traditional households have a advent wreath in the family room and the walls, doors and windows are tastefully decorated with handmade German Christmas crafts. The wreaths are decorated either modern, with trendy colored decorations, or in traditional colors with orange slices, cinnamon sticks, apple slices and pinecones. Each wreath holds four candles, representing each of the four advent Sundays before Christmas. With each new Sunday, another candle gets lit so that by the last Sunday before Christmas, all four candles are burning. The lighting of the advent candle is a special moment in the homes with children. The family spends a quiet moment together and sing carols and some read passages out of the bible.

On the 6th of December, the German version of Santa Claus visits the children. His name is Sankt Nikolaus. On the night of the 5th of December, the kids place their cleaned shoes outside the door. The next morning, the shoes are filled with goodies.

Assisting Sankt Nikolaus is Knecht Ruprecht. He is normally dressed in a brown robe and carrying rods in his belt to give the bad children and a basket on his back full of sacks of  tangerines, peanuts, spiced cookies and chocolate to give to the good children. Theodor Storm (1817-1888) wrote a popular poem about Knecht Ruprecht which is learned still today by all of the children in school.

During the months of December and January, many decorate their outdoor trees with white lights. Especially in the northern states of Germany, it already gets dark outdoors shortly after 4 p.m. and the lights help keep the spirits up. It is nice to go on evening walks and enjoy the scenery. When it snows, it all looks so magical as well.

 

 

The German kitchen at Christmas - It starts with baking goodies for the holidays:

Lebkuchen - German Spice Cookies

In German kitchens, lots and lots of goodies are being baked for the holidays! The most traditional of the baked goods is “Lebkuchen”. The taste can be compared to gingerbread but in its own unique way.

German Cookie Recipes
Here you will find some of our own recipes for traditional German cookies.

60 German Cookie Recipes
Have you ever been to Germany and walked by a traditional bakery? It is so inviting to go in and try some of the delicious goodies they have in there. Not every one can enjoy that experience but at home you can try out some of these recipes to achieve that old world taste. The page is in German and the amounts of the ingredients are metric.

More German Cookie Recipes
Find here information about the tradition of Christmas cookie baking in Germany and also 61 cookie recipes that will surely please the crowd.

Christmas Eve in Germany

Traditionally on the 24th of December, on Christmas Eve, the father of the house solely decorates the tree in the morning and the room gets closed off so that the Christkind (translated: Christ Child, but is an angelic figure) can bring the gifts in the afternoon while the family is at church services. The mother of the house spends the morning decorating the home for the occasion and cooking a small dinner which is often a small meal like Bratwurst and Sauerkraut. Some choose to serve a salad or a potato salad with the meat. The potato salad varies, depending on which region of Germany you live in. The northern area of Germany serves a potato salad with a mayonaise type of dressing. In the south of Germany, a potato salad can contain vinegar and mustard. The mother also spends her time preparing for the Christmas dinner for Christmas day in advance if possible.

The kids get to see and open their gifts after the evening meal and when it is dark outdoors. This adds to the mood. The tree gets lit for the first time with real candles or with traditional white lights. The family sings Christmas carols together and reads passages from the bible.

Christmas Day is family day. The family goes to church in the morning and comes home to eat their Christmas dinner. Often friends or relatives are invited to join them. The second Christmas Day is generally like the first Christmas Day. Those who could not be invited the day before can then come on this day to celebrate with the family.

Traditional Christmas Dinner:
A traditional Christmas dinner consists of a baked goose with potatoes and vegetables but different regions of Germany have developed their own specialties over the years.

Christmas Dinner Table

 

German Christmas Carols
Many of the Christmas carols we sing in English have their origin in Germany. This is a collection of the most popular German Christmas songs in the German language as well as English language carols that have made their way to Germany and have become popular as well.

German Christmas Poetry
Here you will find a festive selection of contemporary and religious German Christmas poems.

 

 

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Handmade Gifts to Craft and Sew

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