Advent Time in Germany.

Vanillekipferl
It’s the beginning of December, and thus, a very important time for the Germans, the so-called Adventszeit. I AM EXCITED! The word originates from the Latin word ‘adventus’, i.e. ‘arrival’, and describes the time before the 24th of December, the day Germany celebrates the birth of Jesus (or the arrival of Christmas presents). Yes, that's right - we celebrate in the evening of 24th , not like the UK on 25th
There you go - first German Christmas fun fact! 

There are numerous German Christmas traditions that take place during the Adventszeit, yet, I will give you my Top Three (otherwise, I’d be sitting here until Christmas Eve…):


1. Plätzchenbacken. German Plätzchen are biscuits that come in all shapes and flavours. My mother usually produces around seven different types of Plätzchen, that are stored in big tins and come out in the afternoon, when it is time for a cup of coffee. Unlike Kaffee & Kuchen, Plätzchen are not only allowed on a Sunday afternoon, but every day! What else would you want?!


Kokosmakronen

2. Nikolaustag. On 6th of December is St. Nicholas’ Day. Traditionally, children place a boot outside the door on the evening before. When they wake up the next morning, the boots are filled with sweets, oranges, walnuts or little presents from Nikolaus. According to the legend Nikolaus only gives presents to the good children, whereas naughty kids will be punished by Knecht Ruprecht. Sounds familiar to you? Maybe you have heard of Krampus before – the Austrian version of Nikolaus’s scary companion. 
By the way: tonight is your chance to start the German Nikolaus tradition in your home! Ask your partner, friend, flatmate to place a boot outside their door this evening and fill it overnight. Everybody loves little presents, especially when waking up on Nikolaustag :-) 

3. Adventskranz. In most German homes, one will find an advent wreath, or some sort of decoration that consists of four candles. The tradition of lighting one candle on the four Sundays before Christmas, was founded by Johann Hinrich Wichern in the 19th century. Since the children in his orphanage always asked him how many days were left before Christmas Eve, he placed 20 red candles and four white candles (for Sundays) on a big wooden wheel and lit one candle a day. Hence, every Sunday, another candle is lit, with the fourth being either Christmas Eve itself or the final Sunday before.

Unfortunately, I don’t have an Adventskranz this year, because Tom and I are in the process of moving to Germany. Nevertheless, I lit a little tea light last Sunday – I must admit it looked a little sad without any fir-tree twigs and decorations, but it still pleased by German heart.

If you feel like baking Plätzchen now, there are a lot of great recipes online (try Chefkoch.de, lecker.de or kochbar.de) and feel free to share your photos under this article! Want a catchy German (kids) song to accompany your baking adventures?! Try "In der Weihnachtsbäckerei" from Rolf Zukowski - it is timeless!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ul7Y06TOq5w

Have a lovely Adventszeit!

Lebkuchen

Kommentare

Kommentar veröffentlichen

Beliebte Posts aus diesem Blog

Who, What, Why?

Bild
Hi, my name is Franzi, I was born and raised in South Germany, close to the Black Forest. I studied English and Protestant Theology in the beautiful city of Tübingen, and due to my Erasmus semester in Durham, I found an English boyfriend. During the years of our distant relationship I learned a lot about the UK, its dishes, its various dialects, its customs and people – or at least, I thought I did. Yet, having actually lived in the UK (to be more precise: Liverpool) for over a year, I realise that I only ever caught glimpses of British culture. Living in the country, working here, listening to the radio, going to the doctor, etc - these are experiences that really allowed me a much wider and deeper understanding of English culture. Even more surprisingly, I now sense my German heritage more than ever, and see my own country and its customs from a new perspective. I never thought about myself as being very German, let alone was I particularly proud of being a German – our his...
Mehr anzeigen

Adventszeit in England

Bild
Hallöchen! Auf Grund unseres anstehenden Umzugs von England nach Deutschland, haben wir unsere Wohnung in Liverpool nun schweren Herzens verlassen und sind für ein paar Tage bei Toms Eltern in Sheffield untergeschlüpft. Und ich kann euch sagen – hier weihnachtet es schon sehr! Wie auch in meinem deutschen Zuhause ist die Weihnachtsdekoration schon seit ein paar Wochen liebevoll platziert worden – Glöckchen und Lichter, Tannenzweige und goldene Tannenzapfen, kleine Weihnachtsmänner und selbstverständlich auch weihnachtliches Klopapier. Ist doch eigentlich wie in Deutschland, oder? Nicht ganz, meine Lieben! Die Engländer haben nämlich auch so einige Weihnachtstraditionen, die wir in Deutschland so nicht verfolgen; oder zumindest nicht so exzessiv. Obwohl so ein Umzug immer ein bisschen anstrengend ist, bin ich sehr glücklich in der Übergangszeit in diesem britischen Haus gestrandet zu sein, um so der britischen Weihnachtskultur so richtig auf die Pelle rücken zu können. Was ...
Mehr anzeigen

A German November Tradition

Bild
Happy Halloween everybody! I hope you are enjoying this wonderful time of the year and eat as many pumpkin-filled meals as we do at the moment. Halloween in Germany is celebrated like it is in England, so actually there is not much to tell about! Children dress up, go from door to door and shout the German version of ‘Trick or Treat’, which is “ Süßes, sonst gibt’s Saures !”. This can roughly be translated as “Give me sweets (Süßes), otherwise we will give you something sour (Saures)”. Of course, Halloween parties are a big tradition as well, pumpkin carving and so on! Since Halloween is not very different, I want to tell you about another German tradition, that takes place some weeks after the 31 st , the so-called ‘ Martinstag’ . This day is celebrated on the 11 th of November and offers little kids another opportunity to stay up late and to walk through town with (handmade) lanterns. When I was a child, I used to love this evening, because my mother would make an awesome l...
Mehr anzeigen