How Christmas Tree Traditions Come from Germany! 🇩🇪🎄 History of the Weihnachtsbaum
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- Опубліковано 14 гру 2021
- Did you know that the Christmas tree tradition all began in what is known today as Germany? I write what is known today as Germany because it truly began thousands of years ago with the Celts who lived in the Germanic territories, long before Germany was a unified country. Anyway, in this video, I share with you the history of the Weihnachtsbaum (Christmas Tree) while we decorate our own tree and show you some of our special Christmas ornaments and decorations we brought with us from the USA. You'll get all the cozy Christmas vibes and really get into the holiday spirit!
#vlogmas #germany #germanculture #germanylifestyle #weihnachten #christmas #christmasdecor #christmasdecorations
Here are my sources for the historical bits:
www.britannica.com/plant/Chri...
www.pc.gc.ca/en/lhn-nhs/mb/fo...
time.com/5736523/history-of-c...
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CHECK OUT ALL OF THE VIDEOS IN OUR FIRST CHRISTMAS IN GERMANY PLAYLIST!
🎄 First Time Trying German Christmas Sweets! 🇩🇪 Edeka Supermarket Haul - CHRISTMAS EDITION! - • First Time Trying Germ...
🎄We Bring German Christmas Markets to Us 🇩🇪 Gebrannte Mandeln + Heiße Maronen + Glühwein! - • We Bring German Christ...
🎄O Tannenbaum 🇩🇪🎄 The German Origins of the Christmas Tree + Decorate with Us! - • How Christmas Tree Tra...
🎄 German Christmas Decorations We’ve Never Had Before! From Erzgebirge and Käthe Wohlfahrt • German Christmas Decor...
🎄Will We Celebrate Christmas the German or American Way? Christkind or Santa Claus? • Will We Open Gifts on ...
Also, shoutout to @KirstenJoerg and their beautiful channel for teaching us so much about German Christmas traditions! They are Germans living in the UK.
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Okay so let us know in the comments what your Christmas Tree traditions are! I hope this video helps more Americans learn how Germans are the creators of the Christmas Tree tradition! 🎄🎄
We still have real candles on the christmas tree. That's possible because we keep the tree, bought a few days before christmas outside on the balcony and standing in a bucket of water. The tree is decorated on dec 24th, and also lit then - and maybe, if the candles are still long enough the day after too. Then they might be replaced by artifical lights. I had never though of putting the tree near a window so that it could be viewed from outside. In small villages there is however the tradition on visiting each other on the days after christmas and "praising" each others trees. Other decorations like lights outside or in a window are usually put up at the start of Advent, but the christmas tree (like the gifts) is brought by the gift bringer of your choice on christmas eve.
Christmas decorations usually start to the 1st Advent, where the 1st candle of the Advent wreath is lit. Traditionally the Christmas Tree is installed and decorated on the Christmas eve. Traditionally the trees are of real wood and the lighs are candles. If you set up the Christmas Tree to much in advance, he becomes dry and dangerous. A dry tree with real candles could quickly catch fire. A fresh fir tree does not catch fire as he is to moist. Even with syntetic trees and LED lights, the most Germans keep the traditional time frame for the Christmas Tree.
ua-cam.com/video/UF3V0KztURo/v-deo.html
@@idnwiw Praising the tree means SCHNAPPS!
got that tree from the local farmer cutted by a hand saw.
Never will get an arteficial one nor those electric ones,
You need the candle and its smell.
Needs care and attention.
better no tree than plastic one.
We strictly adhere to the following Christmas tradition in our family:
Christmas Eve morning Mother starts looking for the Christmas lights and baubles. She first finds the Easter bunnies that she missed so much in the spring. Around noon, she finds a string of lights that has turned into the Gordian Knot since last Christmas. After lunch (just something small), it is Father's job to untie the Gordian Knot and, as an added difficulty, make all the lights glow. Because some lamps have not survived the year, father goes to the hardware store half an hour before closing time to get replacements for the missing lamps. Back home, his next task is to put up the Christmas tree. Before that, mother looks for the stand while father searches various hardware stores for the right lamps. When the tree is upright after a few tries, Mother notices that there are some gaps in the tree. Armed with the drill, some holes are sawed into the trunk of the Christmas tree, into which mother puts fir branches from the garden. Too many holes do not do good for the stability of the Christmas tree, so it buckles. For this case, father keeps a broomstick ready to splint the broken tree. For safety, the Christmas tree is secured to the ceiling with a few fishing ropes from falling over. Now the Christmas spirit slowly returns. Children and adults put on their good clothes. The potato salad was already prepared yesterday and mother's nerves are still enough to prepare hot sausages. Everything gathers in the living room around the Christmas tree. Happy to have escaped the catastrophe of another year, they fall into each other's arms, wish each other a Merry Christmas and start slaughtering the gift packages.
Believe it or not., this is a true story. So merry christmas and peace on earth to everyone.
This is such a funny and lovely story, thanks for telling it! :-):-)
Köstlich! 😄🤣 Da kommt mir vieles sehr bekannt vor!
sounds vaguely familiar! 🤣
As a small kid it was actually lovely when the living room would become off limits after lunch on Christmas Eve and we had to wait for the little bell to be rung. It was magical entering the now transformed room with a Christmas tree, candle light everywhere and of course the gifts under the tree. As we grew older we started to put up and decorate the tree sooner. I guess you become more aware of the short days and the dreary weather the older you get so the decorations and lights now are more than welcome to brighten things up sooner. I haven’t even thought about how wonderful it was to get to see the decorated tree only right before “Bescherung” in years. What a lovely and unexpected surprise, it put a happy smile on my face! Thank you! 🥰
That sounds magical!! I like the German way - how it’s so special to have the tree decorated in Christmas Eve. But I also like the American way of putting it up soon because it does help to cheer up the house and make the short, dark and cold days happier. Maybe we can do a combo of both somehow next year!
Exactly as I remember it. With bee wax candles, which were ONLY EVER lit up on Heiligabend, after church. This brings back so many wonderful memories.
Thank you so much for your videos. I love how you embrace the differences that your new life here in Germany is throwing at you. A real inspiration, in this currently rather daunting world, and not only at Christmas.
From the bottom of my heart I would like to wish you and your family back in the States and new friends here in Germany a wonderful Christmas time, and of course, einen Guten Rutsch und ein Frohes neues Jahr. Greetings from Niederbayern 🤗
so war es bei uns auch... und als großer Bruder mußte ich die "Kleinen" Schwestern beschäftigen bis die Bescherung endlich anfing.
Yup, those were the slowest hours of my life.
When I grew up, we always had candles on the tree. As my grand father was a bee keeper, we started making the candles during the advent time from bee wax he collected. When the candles were lighted up, the whole room smelled after the bee wax, which is one of the strong memories I have of my grand parents and the activities during christmas period. And the cookie baking of my grand mother, of cause :-)
In Germany we usually don’t decorate for Christmas before „Totensonntag“. It’s sometime in November. It’s a day to honor our deceased loved ones, and out of respect we are not supposed to get into comfy Christmas mood prior to Totensonntag.
Ah yes! Okay I remember being told that before but now it’s sticking. Okay, Totensonntag.
My German parents still get their Christmas tree right before Christmas Eve. They are usually decorating it the night before or early in the morning of the 24th. They are usually keeping the tree til Epiphany, because we are Catholics and it's a special day for us.
My siblings and I though decided to get our Christmas trees quite early this year, because we just couldn't wait for the lovely smell of those green twigs and the lovely lights. Our other Christmas traditions are actually Silesian, because my grandma lived there for over 30 years. While other Northern German families might have potato salad and sausages, we have to serve 12 dishes on Christmas Eve and we always set the table for one more person - just in case someone's stranded in front of our house.
Ever since I was a little kid, we always had real candles on our Christmas tree. My parents made sure we knew how to behave around the tree when the candles were burning and we always had safety measures installed. There are even some self-extinguishing ones. To me, using real candles is so much more festive and it smells amazing. I have so many fond memories of Christmas Eve - just chatting, eating Lebkuchen and homemade Plätzchen while watching the candles slowly burn down. We will continue the tradition with our son. It's his first Christmas. 🥰
We still have real candles on the tree :) Always had them. Even when my brother and I were little. I love the light they spread in the room :)
This type of candles you use we use too. Their light is nicer than those bright string lights.
We decorate the tree on the evening before Christmas (23.12) and the tree is real and the candles are real and have been for the 50 Christmases I had😊 the smell of the tree and the candles is the magic of Christmas for me
We always get our tree on the weekend before christmas . When it's finished its tradition that people come aroud and "loben" the beautiful tree . For every "loben" they have to drink a shot "Schnaps" . Loben is in South Germany popular. So when the people say this is a beautiful tree they have to drink . Sometimes they "loben" more than one time . Now you can imagine how funny it can get . Because of Covid last year there where no people comming arond . So we did it online with our own drinks . I like your family ornaments . What a beautiful tree . Now I drink one glas for your beautiful family tree 😉❤🌲😂
It used to be customary that a child had to recite a Christmas poem before getting their gifts. So the young mister with the stripes on the sweater would seem to have no problems ;)
(this tradition kinda disappeared, though)
Second tree is outside, with lights. Where I can see it and drink my Morning coffee when all is dark and quiet🕯
The first documented Christmastree in Freiburg (1419) was in the Heiliggeist Spital a house for poor or sick people. It was decorated from the bakers guild with pastry/cookies. After a while the childrens can eat the decorations.
Ah very cool!
We decorate our tree in the evening of 23rd :) (and of course it has to be in the living room!) The rest of the decorations we put up on the first advent Sunday, but the tree comes later so that there's something new and magical for Christmas Eve. And as typical here in Germany we celebrate on Christmas Eve (but also on 25th and 26th - 24th is only for the closest family, 25th for my father's side of the family and 26th for my mother's side :D) we then put down our decorations including the tree around the 7th of January. That way we still have a lot of time with the tree bringing light into our house, just after Christmas instead of before. I also like to remember the times when I was small and we weren't allowed into the living room from the evening of 23rd right up until a small bell would ring for "Bescherung" in the afternoon of Christmas Eve.
How on earth did you manage to transport that gigantic tree home and also to decorate it?!? Must have been quite a heap of work..
Yes the giant tree was a ton of work - my dad and brother-in-law would come over and help carry it in and back out. It was fun to have a big one, but too much work. I don’t want another big one again!
We still put candles on the tree - you can buy special bee's wax candles for Christmast trees, they smell lovely and burn very evenly.
In my family we take a small tree and put it on a small table in the living room corner, to make it look bigger but comfy
I experienced my first Christmas in Germany in 1986 and from that year on and for all the years I lived in Germany, we always had living candles on the tree. We kept a bucket of water discreetly hidden nearby. I also insisted on doing this when I first came to Sweden, but when we purchased a non-living tree, that became impossible. The candles were lit on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Years Eve and the tree was never left without someone nearby. You cannot begin to imagine how lovely a candle lit tree is! (We also had electric lights on the tree for all the other days and nights of Christmas!) The tree was decorated on the day of Christmas Eve by the parents- all “children” being banished from the closed off living room until after Christmas dinner and after the candles had been lit. Naturally we never put presents under the Christmas tree. But there was always a crèche nearby the tree. All presents appeared “magically” on Christmas Eve, set at each family member’s seating place in the living room. In the early years, they were not even wrapped! Horrifying for my American heart. In Sweden the tradition differs. Later in November, as it begins to become dark earlier and earlier, many Swedes generously hang small white Christmas lights on the eves of their houses and over every available tree or bush. Then they light every window of their home with white Christmas stars. Unlike our American tradition of joyfully blazing colorful lights, the Swedes stick to white lights - although colored lights are beginning to appear here and there. If I have understood correctly, the white lights signify the “light in the darkness” representing Jesus. Of course the well known tradition of “Lucia”, celebrated on the 13th of December with young women carrying a crown of living candles on their heads, also represents the light of Christ in the world. And I am NOT going into the reasons why an Italian saint is celebrated in Sweden! 🤩 But it IS magical to experience this tradition in person. These years my husband and I use battery lit candles that can be placed wherever on the tree. We use re-chargeable batteries. I highly recommend both. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays. God bless you all! Oh, I can barely wait to experience your first New Year’s Eve fireworks!
My parents have a very high ceiling in their livingroom so they always get a 3 meters tall real tree. They decorate with antique/vintage glass ornaments that have been collected over the years and handed down from grandparents. They also put real candles on the tree, that are lit on christmas eve and we sit there until they go out. Most people just use electric lights instead, but the candle light is just so so special and magical, there is no way we would give up on candles.
I love this! Reading all of the comments here about how to do the real candles on the tree makes me want to try them. I’m sure it is quite magical!
Nothing beats the look and feel of real candles on the tree. We used to light them Christmas Eve and gather round the tree to sing O Tannenbaum in Awe of the beauty of it all. The real candles work best on naturally grown trees that have the necessary space between the branches. North American cultivated trees are too bushy and become a fire hazard. Also keep your tree well watered and have a fire extinguisher close by! LOL
I would say germans mostly start decorating for christmas just before the 1st advent which can also be in late november. But we used to set up the tree on the 23th december, but I tink most younger families also do it earlier today. I personally think the perfect time to set up the tree is just between the 3th and 4th advent.
Have you ever listened to Rolf Zuckovski Christmas music with your kids? Just last week I thought about how lucky we are, that we grew up with this amazing Christmas kids music. I really reccomend you to listen to it, it's amazing. I still love to listen to it today.
I'm teaching my 5th graders the difference in Christmas rations in Germany and the US right now. They so love the American songs and poems, but refer the German traditions... No surprise, there are more of them ;) Your kids are so lucky to be getting the best of both worlds, so I am wishing you a magical, fun and gemütliche time!
Unfortunately no Christmas three for me :( My cats destroy it every time and my dog pees on it.
Oh no! Cat destroys it and dog pees on it! 🤣😖 So cool you’re a 5th grade teacher! Yeah a lot more German traditions than American!
If you want to teach them really something....not to butcher Stille Nacht (Silent Night) as 99,99999 % of US versions ...look for Thomaner Chor or Kreuz Chor version...show them this...Silent Night is not a show off tune, no Broadway...no loops..no Kitsch!!!! perhaps there is a music teacher ...just a guitar..and closing the school year with Silent Night...
My first Christmas in Germany would have been 1968. I still have some of the paper advent calendars from my childhood.
In germany *Adventszeit und Weihnachten* is the quiet time. We say "besinnliche Weihnachten".
Americans celebrate a happy birthday, in Germany people remember that Jesus is facing a terrible time of suffering.
If you have the opportunity, go to church for late mass on Christmas Eve. The atmosphere is incomparably spiritual.
We live in the Yukon(always a white Christmas here ❄)and go into the woods and cut our own tree down about a week before Christmas. It gets decorated by the whole family, adult kids and now grandchildren...whomever can make it. This year we are awaiting the arrival of our son and his German girlfriend, coming over from Munich in a few days (fingers crossed Covid travel rules don't suddenly change). It's her first Canadian Christmas and she is excited about going into the Canadian wilds to cut a tree down...even though its -25c!
We stand our tree in the living room window, to share It's beauty. I didn't know advent calendars had a German origin. We always had them growing up in the 1960's/1970's in Canada. My famiy has British origins. We also always had Christmas crackers at the dinner table and still do. Merry Christmas.
So cool to hear how it’s fine in the Yukon! Wow! And so neat you grandson has a German girlfriend. I hope COVID doesn’t change the rules, also, because we fly to the US on the 26th!
Willkommen zu unserem Weihnachtsspezial 👍👌🏻👏🏼
Das war super !
My parents still use the "electric candles" my mothers grandfather bought decades ago. They are still wrapped into the same pieces of old newspapers from the 1970s, so that they don't break - which was the most fascinating thing about decorating the christmas tree for my brother and me as kids: we unwrapped the candles and then read the old journal articles 😄 I also know people who use real candles - but for safety reasons always keep a bucket of water close to the tree - and never leave the room while candles are still burning. Have a beautiful christmas - your tree looks awesome ☺
I think we might try having real candles for Christmas Eve! I love the idea of lighting them and then sitting around the tree to enjoy it.
We definitely decorate the tree on Christmas Eve, never ever before that...
Putting up the candles... something to be only attemted with my mum out if the way. She would hover. Lord, that woman would HOVER!
So during her last years I would sneakily do it while she took her nap. 😄
Eure überaus üppige Weihnachtsdekoration ist wirklich zauberhaft. Und der Christbaumschmuck ist wirklich sehr individuell. Sogar Teile mit euren Namen oder Fotos von euch. So etwas habe ich noch nie gesehen. Das gibt eurem Baum einen ganz besonderen Charme. Sara, du machst wirklich tolle Videos. Und es gefällt mir gut, dass du dich so sehr für unsere Traditionen interessierst und sogar die historischen Ursprünge recherchierst. Es macht immer Freude eure Videos anzuschauen und eure Begeisterung zu teilen. ☺
Your vlogs are so enjoyable. Thank you for sharing so much.
We start decorating our house on Advent first, but only put the tree up and decorate in the morning of Christmas Eve. We actually have string lights and actual candles on our real tree 🎄when me and my siblings were small my mother and grandmas actually would bake Pfeffer Kuchen and put it on the tree for us to eat. Each year as children we would also make a Lebkuchen Haus to put underneath the tree
What sweet childhood traditions!
Hallo wir gucken alle eure Videos. Wir lieben sie. Schöne und besinnliche Adventszeit ⛄🎅🎄
Dankeschön!! ❤️💚❤️💚
so much snow. no snow
has been here this year. But it is probably trendy for Christmas, which is very rare here. Many greetings from the west of Germany. The christmas tree comes in the house at 24 morning. Then we decorates it. we are decorating in two colors, gold and white with real candles. Very classic. Big cuddle to the cat ))
Good and white candles sounds really beautiful! And do you use real or electric?
We used to cut the tree ourselves in the garden, my grandparents had planted them decades ago and one tree was so tall we had to cut the top off and it became our own little tree and we had a high at least two story ceiling. Nothing ever burned when we had real candles, but we kept them for decoration. We used to cook and bake and go to mass, where we’d either sing, play or be part of the mass and one parent would slip out and be the “Christkind” for when we come home. I figured it out quite early but let my parents have the fun of being Christkind.
The sight of your cat laying underneath the Christmas tree brought a huge smile to my face. Our two cats always do the same thing. I don't know how it's usually for you, but our cats never knocked over our tree or played with the tinsel or something like that. In fact they never did any mischief, just loved sleeping beneath it for as long as it was standing. I think it's because of the fresh pine smell. Like their very own outdoor paradies all wrapped up in their save terroitory. I'm not home for Christmas yet so it actually made me a little teary-eyed because it's such a Christmas sight for me. I cannot wait to get home for Christmas.
🐱🐱 so sweet! Yes our cat has not been messing with the tree! We’re so glad she doesn’t. I so agree that the cats probably love the pine scent.
We still put real candles on our Christmas tree. The light is just magical and nothing ever happened. :-) The tree is decorated on the 24th during the day. Most Germans will have their Christmas trees up from the 24th of December to the 6th of January.
When I was a child, the Christmas tree was not decorated until Christmas Eve because our dad was very frugal and only bought a tree at the end. Much to the chagrin of our mother 😒 but thanks to Dad's ability, the tree looked beautiful in the end because it moved branches. The four of us children were sent to church so that the parents had peace of mind to decorate everything. There were only real candles on our tree, our mother was consistent with that. And there was always potato salad and sausages to eat, that's been the case for generations. It has now become a 3-course menu with a gourmet starter and dessert 😋
Yummm! Loved reading about your traditions! What do you do now as an adult?
We decorate the christmastree on Dez 22. We have real candle and traditional "Strohsterne" and glassornaments. Very german. Frohe Weihnachten Euch allen!
What a beautiful Christmas decoration, and so personal! It looks so lovely!
Awe thank you! It’s not something you’ll find in a magazine, but they’re all special ornaments.
Very interesting, thank you.
If an American and a German Christmas tree had a child, it would look just like yours.
Yes 🤣🤣🇩🇪🇩🇪🇺🇸🇺🇸
My grandma still uses real candles on the tree as she knows it from her childhood. Nothing ever burned down till this day because they are just lit when you actively enjoy the tree with a little Glühwein and look at all your gifts again.
Fantastic, I am here exactly at the right time!
Great idea to do regular Christmas vlogs ;-)
My favorite growing up was the tree in school. It was soo big and I enjoyed entering school everyday to the beautiful view of the tree. Public places put out trees usally around the first advent weekend.
We start to put up the Christmas decoration in the week befor the 1 Advent. The tree we decoret on the Morning of the 24.December. Nice movi.
Was für ein schöner Weihnachtsbaum! So toller Christbaumschmuck 😍
Vielen dank!
We still have actual/real candles on our christmas tree. We never had anything else, not even when small kids had been in the house. They learn right from the beginning to be careful with open fire. Our tree (a real/natural one) will be brought into the house late December 23, and decorating starts early December 24. After 5 pm that day we will have the "Bescherung", meaning the giving, receiving and opening of presents. After that we all sit down for dinner. After dinner those who are churchgoers will attend Christmette (usually at 11 pm). Christmas Day (25th) is spend either visiting relatives or lounging around, or even going on holidays (ski holidays quite often). Same for Boxing Day (2. Feiertag, 26th). Ah, and all the shops will be closed from 2 pm December 24 on until they open again on 27th. Before Christmas Eve, house decorations are mainly window lights and the traditional (sometimes a modern version of it) advent wreath with four candles on it. No tree (at least not with us).
Beautiful Christmas Tree! 😍
Oh thank you! It's very simple with homemade ornaments, no trendy decorations. But that's how we like it!
Here in Switzerland it’s still very popular to have actual candles on the Christmas tree~ you can buy the branch clips and candles in most supermarkets.
I have never done it as I’m too nervous, but from what I told they are old lit during Christmas Eve and festive dinners.
Dekorieren am 1. Advent.
Christbaum wird Nachts vom 23. auf dem 24. aufgestellt und dekoriert. Dann wird das Wohnzimmer bis zur Bescherung abgeschlossen bis die Glocke läutet. 🙂
Bei uns wurden die Geschenke in der Kindheit und der Baum vom Christkind gebracht.
Es ist so etwas besonderes den Baum mit den Geschenken das 1. mal zur Bescherung zu sehen und so werde ich es nun auch mit meinen Sohn machen 😌
👋 from Knoxville TN. Thanks for the Christmas tree history lesson and sharing your beautiful decorations!
Thank you for watching! ❤️
The best thing about an Austrian / German Christmas tree is always the chocolate we hang on it and the weeks of night raids that ensue.
😆🤣 that would totally happen in our house if we put chocolate on the tree! So I didn't know this was an Austrian thing! Tell me more.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Wait, no chocolates on the tree?! Those are mandatory! 😉
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife They do it in Germany too, but I usually spend Xmas in Austria where I am from, so that is why I feel only authoritative in Austrian xmas matters ;)
Usually you hang special Christmas candy / chocolate onto the tree. It comes in small packages, often sold by Lindt/Lindor, is specific and unique for Xmas, usually wrapped in silver/paper wrap, and can be hooked onto the branches with special metal hooks that you buy. Choices range from "Ugh, who fills chocolate with jelly?" via "oh, nice, merengue!" to "OMG-MORE!-MORE!!! Chocotastic!" By now your local super markets are flooded with xmas decoration and chocolates.
In general a "germanic" Christmas tree is decorated like this: Start with an empty tree, fill it with the chocolates first, keep away at least 3-4 inces from the branch tips so as to not load down and bend the branches. Then add those Christmas tree balls (google) near the tips (they are very light). Then add any decoration like little figurines, chains, etc.
Add real candles to the tree around 2 inches away from the tips (only do this if you are German and grew up with it. As children we all at least burnt our fingers once on a Christmas tree candle ;). Avoid doing it as foreigner, you will burn down your house.)
Finish it off with Lametta ropes and lose Lametta that you hang down from individual branches. Less is more. Lametta is German for "tinsel", basically stripes of coloured tin foil. (google)
In my family, btw, we usually decorate on the 23rd or 24th early morning as a family activity, and then pretend not we but the "Christkind" (a baby jesus/xmas-angel hybrid) decorated it.
We also put our tree up on Dec. 23rd or on the morning of the 24th. We never use an artificial one, and I hate it when they start losing their needles. So putting it up on the latest day possible makes a lot of sense to me.
During my childhood, the story of getting and decorating the Christmas tree always was an adventure of its own. As we are private forest owners, my father always went out and cut the tree in our own forest. I sometimes accompanied him. To my mum's exasperation, he wasn't able to switch his farmer's brain off and only brought trees he had to cut down anyway ... which meant that our trees always were weak and crooked and had huge naked parts in them where the branches were missing. Sometimes, they had several tips. They were really awful and decorating meant hiding its flaws instead of enhancing the natural beauty of the tree!
One year, my mum sent my father out three times because the trees were so bad. The next year, he brought five trees at once and let her choose the best one (which meant, the one that was the least evil). Another year, he brought a tree with branches that were so thin that we weren't able to use anything else than stars made of straw (which are a very typical German Christmas tree decoration).
So for me, getting a Christmas tree and decorating it is always an adventure!
Funny thing is, the story continues now that I'm married myself ... but my husband has been getting really good at "repairing" a flawed tree by filling up the naked parts with additional branches. So our tree looks at least decent, although it usually is the runt of the litter the neighboring farmer hasn't been able to sell. (I just can't help it. I guess my childhood experiences are to blame for that, but I just have a heart for outcasts - even if they are just trees.)
I do not have a tree, because it is just me at my household. But we always had real candles. And friends of mine still use real candles, they have a 5 year old kid . Never had a problem
Once again a fantastic video and you have done so much research about the christmas tree tradition! And now I hope that we get some snow during the christmas days :-). Ich wünsche Euch eine schöne Weihnachtszeit.
Thank you, Peter! Let’s all hold our thumbs for snow! ❄️❄️
Your kids are so cute!! We decorate our tree on the 24. :) Already having it during advent is really nice and festive too though!
In Austria, at least 90% of people still put actual candles on their tree. It's only dangerous if the tree is dried out, so you should only light them when the tree is fresh. I honestly couldn't imagine to have fake candles on christmas eve because it's just traditional here and makes for such an amazing atmosphere!
Ihnen Allen schöne Weihnachten, einen guten Rutsch ins neue Jahr ! Bleibt gesund !!❣❣💚
Vielen dank! Du auch!
I and my family start decorating on the day before the 1st Advent Sunday !
Sounds perfect to me! That’s about the same time we do it, which is right around Thanksgiving in the USA.
Very good vlog. I didn’t know most of what you told us. Thank you. Concerning the decoration, when I was small in the sixties, we had selfmade ornaments made out of Glanzpapier and Strohhalm, chestnuts and cookies. It was a lot of work, but we as kids where very proud to see our ornaments on the tree. My mom also bought some sugar cringles and chocolate balls with golden glitter. Every day we where aloud to have some sweets from the tree. We did not have much money. But there where also some real candles on the tree. I think we got into the Christmas mood because we where crafting and baking Christmas ornaments through the whole Adventszeit. The Christmas tree was the grand finale on the 24th.
Oh that is all so very special. In our modern times of convenience, we really do lose some charm and magic from the older days.
In my family we decorate the christmas tree on December 23rd. All other decorations go up some time between sunday of the death and the first advent. I learned that it is a big no no to have christmas lights before sunday of the death.
Nice narration, video.
Thank you!
On Christmas eve my father puts on the tree and makes the candles (electric ones) on it and my mother and I dekorated it.
Every year with other things.
One year straw stars which we made oureselves,
one year selfmade stars from pearls and wire,
one year stars we had crochet and one year christmas balls we had covered with selfmade crochet lace.
My tree always has to be a "Nordmann-Tanne", they are pricier than other sorts but carry softer and less painful needles. It's usually about 1-1,5 meters tall and set up in the corner of the living room or the exact opposite side of where the "Heizkörper" are on Dec 23rd. Thinking back in time, I cannot recall any Xmas without having had real candles on our trees - until my son started to walk, so that had changed for a couple of years. Nowadays, the real candles are supplemented by electrical candles that are basically the same you are using this year.
Not all trees are suitable for carrying real candles though, you have to bear that in mind when searching for one. Safety first: make sure to put one full bucket of water next to it and extinguish all candles prior to leaving the room. And no more real candles past Dec. 26th because the tree might have lost too much moisture/water by then.
Enjoy your first German Weihnachtsfest, and I'm sure you will :-)
Frohe Weihnachten an Alle + Katze!!!!!!
Ralph
The red Christmas tree balls from glas symbolised red apples which was hanging in the tree, but gets rotten soon in a warm house.
Oh that makes so much sense! I hadn’t made that connection before. 🍎🍎
Ich finde es toll wie schön ihr euch in Deutschland wohl fühlt und deutsche Dinge probiert und deine Söhne sprechen gut deutsch ganz klasse gelernt aber auch die Eltern einfach trauen und probieren 😊 klasse !
My family members are all Christmas addicted. We start decorating right away at the first of November. 🎅🏻
Great Christmas poem and greetings from Hannover! 🙃
I love it! There is nothing wrong with being addicted to Christmas!
Hello everyone!
My family always used to put up the Christmas tree the day before "Holy Night", i.e. Christmas Eve. And I would decorate it with my granny and my mum that day. We also followed and still do German tradition and gave/give presents just on the day of Holy Night.
Merry Christmas to all of you!
Where to start? ;) Purchasing or cutting the tree: some days before Christmas the father and kids went to the market, or into certain woods to (let) cut a fresh tree, like a tradition. The tree rested outside on the balcony in a pot of water. Some people though prefer purchasing a living tree in a pot that can be used the next winter. Putting up: during the course of 24th, or 1 day before. Place of the tree: since I grew up in a city and an appartment, the tree stood in a corner of the living room, where every one in the house could see him well. It is rare to finde trees outside, or placed in a way so that neighbours can look at them, too. Deco : in former times usually lead lametta, real candles, glass baubles, and selfmade straw stars., on top either a star or top/pinnacle? Sometimes my mother put a little crip beneath. Lead lametta and gift papers got folded, pleaded & saved to be reused in the next year. Later on the real candles got substituted with electric ones, the lead lametta and glass baubles turned into plastic for health&envirement reasons. Meals: in the early evening not too late for kids, either full meal (Weihnachtsgans, Knödel, Rotkohl, Kroketten, or Blauer Karpfen, or very simple: Würstchen w. Kartoffelsalat - most common here in the North, common adult drinks are Glühwein, Wein or Feuerzangen-Bowle). Gifts: kids had to leave the living room and when "das Christ-Kind" (aka parents) rang a little bell they were allowed to enter the living room again, this time with presents beneath the tree = Bescherung. On the 25th & 26th either other family members come for a visit or the family has a real good family time, watching movies, playing games, going outside, with more delicious food and left-overs :).Personally: I am very much emotionally bound to these Christmas traditions and it brings lots of good memories a very certain athmosphere into the dark winter season. As you already explained well the origins of Weihnachten and Weihnachtsbaum stem from Germany and back to pagan roots. As a Christian I am sometimes in a conflict, since we know that Jesus was not born on 24th or 25th, and since the Bible clearly tells us, NOT to place gifts beneath a green tree, and NOT to put metal or golden things on it. ( Jeremia 10:2-5). But since we dont worship the tree, or gifts or the pagan gods. I guess it is OK?
OK, there is so much snow where you live. I am jealous and at the same time I am happy for you.
Yeah we got like 15 cm or more! It was a lot. But we are in the mountains near some 3,000 meter peaks, so it's the elevation that gets us more snow.
Yay! You talked about how the first tree in Freiburg! ❤️ Such a cool story right? Your tree looks great by the way! Happy holidays.
Yes!! I thought of you guys when I came across that fact!! So cool! Happy holidays to you guys, too!
Judith Flanders? Well done! Her books are great! Haven't read the xmas one but several of the others. She really knows what she is doing!
Our family always brought up the tree on Dez. 24th but you would still have some lightweight decoration from the advent time. So candles, evergreen twigs and especially some kind of Advent wreath would be around since the first advent which should be in the last week of november in most years.
In parts of southern bavaria and BW, namely everything close to the Allgäu there´s the tradition to praise the chrismas trees (christbaumloben) of your friends, kolleges or teammates etc.. So ppl would go around, look at your tree and tell you how beautiful it is. You would usually drink a Schnaps and then move to the next house. So if that´s the case in your area, make sure to have some nice xmasy booze and shot glasses ready. The point is to praise the beauty of all aspects of a tree, and ironicly twist the shortcommings into positives etc. The praise is the point, no matter how bare and askew the tree might be. If somebody tells you your tree is nice you should offer him a shot, or expect to get it offered if you do so yourself. But don´t expect strangers to hawk the neighbourhood for booze. That´s not how it works. More like you ring at your neighbours to wish them a happy holiday and hand them a bottle of wine or whatever, then you would be invited in to check out the tree and implicitly have a schnaps. Stuff like that.
I love that Bavarian tradition!! I hope we get to experience that.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife That´s where german humor comes out, I´m looking forward to your "These german christmas traditions shocked us" video. keep us posted. I would love to know if the tradition i mentioned is practised in your area.
Our Christmas tree always was in our living room. We mixed real candles and electric candles. So on christmas eve we light up the real candles. We are all sitting around in the living room and the Christmas tree and the candles are under constant observation 🙂. When they are burned down the electric candles are switched on. I love your Christmas tree and the ornaments. Merry Christmas
Okay next year I'm going to try real candles! It would be so special to light them only on Christmas Eve and sit around the Christmas tree! Thanks for sharing how you celebrate.
A big christmassy hug to my favourite American Family!
Since last year I decorate my christmas tree on the 23rd. It stressed me out to do it on the 24th as the trees got bigger and bigger each year. This year maybe on the 22nd because I have a friend over from Ireland and he arrives at the 21st.
When my brother and I were children our parents quickly skipped the "Christkind" story and we all helped decorating the tree. We knew where the presents came from in the real world and Christmas was a shiny family celebration - once even with a slightly scorched tree.
Oh how fun you’ve got a friend coming from Ireland! Thank you for the Christmassy hugs, here are some for you! 🤗🤗
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Thank you so much for the hugs and for replying to all my messages! This makes your channel a very familiar and friendly place at youtube for me. Have a wonderful Christmas with your family! I will be thinking of you at Christmas eve.
As a German-American family we open our presents on Christmas Eve and those from our extended American family on December 25.
So goldig! Climbing up the tree to put the fairy/angel/star on top is a rite of childhood ❤️ Next year will be here so fast and hopefully the Christmas markets will be back. I LOVE the 12 ft tree thing! They do it like that in some hotels, in the Meridian in Stuttgart, for example. My tree is so tiny, you would roll on the floor laughing. I have my reasons 😂
If we didn't have 4 kids I think our tree might be small, too. It's so much work otherwise! Haha Yes I do hope all of the markets will open up next year! But that's what everyone was saying last year, too....
I grew up decorating the tree on the 24th and putting it down on Jan 6th. I went on with this tradition with my son. But as he got older and spent more time at his dads house, he could just enjoy our tree for 2 or 3 days. So a few years ago I decided to decorate earlier but still put the tree down on Jan 6th. This year we are kinda late ;) so we are decorating the tree tonight 👍🏻🎄
Awe have fun decorating it tonight! Do you have any traditions while you decorate the tree?
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife no special traditions. But I will turn some Christmas music on and I love that my 16 year old son told me yesterday he wants to help decorating 😉
@@marenslife8181 oh yes, teenagers! Our oldest didn't want to help us decorate the tree last year or this year. :(
"Putting it down" sounds like you used a shotgun. 😉
@@ThePixel1983 😂 so what do I say instead? I’m German and willing to improve 😁
Roman Catholics from the Mediterrenean also have Christmas on the 25th.
We don't even say Merry Christmas on the 24th.
Hello from Athens Greece ! When I was a kid I was living in a small little village named Kolaiti on the island of Kefalonia Greece. We used to go out and cut a tree on the 23th of December and decorated then together with mum and dad. We used to eat tiganites ( a small type of pancake ,not fluffy though) with honey on them and drink hot tea with milk.
Now that I am all grown up and with my own family we have an artificial tree and we decorated on the weekend before my birthday which are on the 7th of December! I love the atmosphere and coziness it creates💖 Of course hot chocolate and Christmas music is included 😋
Tree in both occasions was In the living room.
For the end of my long comment I want to say that I love your videos and admire the move you did in Germany ( and I am a little jealous too 🤣) . Your family and you are amazing . Happy holidays and Merry Christmas with lots of love ,happiness and health 💖🌟🎄
How wonderful it is to read about your Christmas traditions in Greece! Americans are obsessed with Greece. It's our ideal vacation spot!
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife you should come then ! July or September (August is very busy as is Greeks vacation time as well).
I am sure your family will really like it ! Germans also love Greece! They make one of our biggest groups of tourists every year ,and a lot are buying property in Greece too 😊
In our family it's tradition to decorate the tree on the morning of the 24th by me and my brother. Even after I moved out at my parents, I still come back every year for that task (it's just a few streets away, so no big travel). We only ever had electric candles, which can be quite difficult to put onto the tree, if the cables are tangled. I can remember my grandparents used to have real candles on their tree.
Loved reading about your traditions, Christian!
We have also real candels on the tree😅 next there is a bucket with water and our Budgies in the cage.We look forward to your next video. Tschüüs
when I was a kid we decorated a tree for the wildlife in the woods, too. You can put dry fruits and seeds in pinecones for squirrels and mice. also you can hang up hay rings filled wirth seeds, nuts and fruit. Do not use any glittery thngs, glass or wire to put the things up. we also used to hang carrots and apples and turnips. During fall we collected acorns and chestnuts and put these under the tree, too. I was always happy to do something for the anmials and bring them the christmas spirit. We used to go back there after a while and were very happy when everything was gone - probably eaten
Oh my gosh! Our kids would LOVE this! We've got to do this!
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Well, i was pretty sure I commented here. Well, then let's do another round. At DM or other stores ou can also buy so called "Meisenknödel". Try to get some without a plastic net around it. But I think they can be easily be made at home. I rember crafting these in elementary school. Google surely knows a recipe :) Also great doing it with kids.
In my childhood (born 1963) our father decorated the tree (a real one!) in the living room, while my sister, our mother and grandmother looked out of the bedroom window to check where the weihnachtsmann had already been. Every new lights shining through the windows caused a "da war der weihnachtsmann jetzt!". When we were older it was fun to us that our grandma still loved this tradition, and because we loved her we joined her looking out for the new lights. When he had finished decorating and putting the presents under the tree (real candles in multiple colors and a lot of lametta and glas ornaments like birds, trumpets and the ..?.. (Kugeln) our dad rang a little silver bell, and we went into the living room. Because we weren' musicians or singers at all, we didn't sing or play instruments ourselves, but my dad's record player played " Fröhliche Weihnachten mit Rudolf Schock", a quite famous singer in the 50's and early 60's. Then everyone got their presents. When everything was unpacked and enjoyed, we had Kartoffelsalat mit Ei und Bockwürstchen mit Senf. The same procedure every year.
With our own children (now 32 and 30 yo) we did it differently, because we wanted them to enjoy the decorating, too. The first years we did that at noon on the 24th, but one year it happened that the electric light chain was damaged and because the shops were closed and we couldn't get new lights, we decorated (and I stll do so) on the 23rd of december. Just in case ... But the lights always stay off until christmas eve, just before giving the presents.
Last month my first grandchild (sweet little Emma) was born, now we celebrate at my son's flat for the first time...
Btw I grew up in Witten which is in the Ruhrgebiet. We had the Weihnachtsmann, not the Christkind. I guess it depends a lot on which confession you are, the catholic have more the Christkind, and the evangelic more often have the Weihnachtsmann.
Greetings!!!
Your tree turned out beautifully! We used to get a real tree too but with us usually going away to see our family, it just doesn't make sense. Here in the UK the majority have artificial trees unlike in Germany. Thanks so much for researching all the information, really appreciate it.
One day when the kids are much older I plan to get some of the glass blown ornaments you show in your videos. As you say, they are 😍 stunning! 😍 And they really are! I want some of those birds you have.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife That sounds wonderful! You should try and visit Rothenburg ob der Tauber. My sister visited several times and simply loves it as it has the Käthe Wohlfahrt shop there. It's on our list to visit too.x
Willkommen zu unserem Weihnachts-Spezial
BAM! NAILED IT! AWESOME! **makesnoisesthatsoundlikemassesarecheering**
😍😍🎉🎉yayayayayaya!!
😍😍🎉🎉yayayayayaya!!
My family always put it in the Wohnzimmer. Often it wasn't even a full height tree but a smaller one on a small table, with a nice tablecloth so you can hide parts of the presents under the table.
That sounds lovely!
We also decorate on the 23rd :) we actually put real candles on our tree, I always thought most people do that😅 in the afternoon of the 24th we go to church, there is also usually a nativity play for the children. Concerning christmas markets, here in vienna they are not cancelled I believe, but there is 2G. Wünsche euch einen schönen restlichen Advent :)
Yeah my family never had real candles, but I need to ask my parents because I imagine my grandparents and greatgrandparents must've had real candles! I love that Germans still have real candles - it's so very charming!!
Normaly we decorate our Christmastree at the 23th December. And it's always a real one. At the beginning I have a Adventskranz, a Adventskalender for my doughter and some decoration in the kitchen and diningroom. How much decoration you have here is very different in every famili and household.
We decorate before the 1. Advent Sonntag. we have a Wintertown of 4meters, and every year it get´s larger. Plus the other things, like figures in the livingroom wardrobe and everywere.....!
We hang our outside lights after Totensonntag. And we get our tree usually just a couple of days before the 24th and decorate the tree on the 23rd or 24th. The tree will stay until 6th of January (Heilige Drei Könige) because that’s when the church youth usually picks up the tree for a small donation
we start decorating about 1 weeks before. right on christmas eve sounds a bit much to me personally, you have enough other things to enjoy on christmas eve. but after november sounds really really long 😅well, doesn't hurt anybody and if it brings joy then why not. ours is a similar size, usually roughly in the middle of the living room. we did/do have actual candles on our trees. without the protection around it. but we only light it on christmas eve and didn't let it burn the whole time or so because of course it'd be a fire hazard.
For us, we put the advent decorations up the week before first advent. The tree is set up on the 23rd and decorated in the morning (Vormittag) of the 24th. In the evening we'll set up even more candles. In my family we always did it together, but many families didn't allow the kids into the room until the evening.
We also decorate the windows and take walks through the neighbourhood to look at the decorations.
Also we still use real beeswax candles, it smells so great. We only light them when we plan a cozy time next to the tree with singing and all, so no danger there :-)
To get the branches pulled down, we hang apples instead of christmas balls, then the candles can be put up more easily.
I remember my sister and I putting lametta on the tree. It was pretty when it was new. After the holidays it somehow looked like a wrinkly mess.
Presents were opened on Christmas eve. We kids each had to say a Christmas poem before we were allowed to take out presents. Knecht ruprecht definitely was cited multiple times or Lieber guter Weihmachtsmann 🤣
Yeah, for me it's always very important to use the old electric candles and glass ornaments like bells, icicles, nuts, big and small round ornaments and I have a very old ornament for the Christmas tree top from the 1950ties I love and treasure so much.
I always buy a real Christmas tree, because I like the smell in the living room. Normally I decorate the apartment at the 1st Advent and the Christmas tree on the 23rd.. The 24th is so much to do I need to have the tree ready before.
my Christmas tree stays up year round
Oh does it! How nice. Do you put decorations on it for different holidays or seasons?
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife No. I left it up originally because it was just me and I was going to be gone for a while and would be back right before it would be put back up. So I left it up and after several years up when I was home more it just stayed up since it didn't make sense to take it down when it was already up for years. So it is same year round.
Wir schmücken an Heiligen Abend 😊 und Würstchen mit Kartoffelsalat und machen uns alle chic
The problem with putting up a tree weeks or a month earlier is that it will become dry and lose its needles eventually. Some types of trees last longer than others, but eventually it will happen. And the tree generally needs to last until early January. You don't have to wait until Christmas Eve though.
Yeah that’s very true. Many Americans now get artificial trees so that’s one reason they put them up earlier. Growing up my siblings had very bad allergies and the tree would actually make them very sick, so we had to get an artificial tree when I was teenager to keep them from getting sick every Christmas. But we had this big tradition of going to a tree farm and picking out the tree together, so we were sad for that tradition to go away.
My family starts decorating on the first Advent.
My mom always makes the Adventkranz herself ^^
And we put up our Reindeer sleigh (a decoration that we hang on a window that is electric and shines ^^) And we put up a decorated fir branch in front of our front door ^^
I love setting up the Weihnachts Krippe (christmas crib) :D
And we bake Plätzchen (christmas cookies).
On Dezember 23 we put up our christmas tree ^^
First my dad puts the candels on it (we use real candles xD) and then everyone starts decorating the tree with all kinds of decoration like golden chains with stars and bells and Christbaumkugeln (christmas baubles). And of course Lametta (tinsel) ^^
We reuse our decoration every year xD
On the evening of Dezember 24, after eating Raclette, my Dad lights up the candles on the tree and we start with the "Bescherung" :D
When I was still a kid me and my siblings had to go upstairs until my parents were done with lighting up the christmas tree candels and putting all the presents under the tree.
It was always special hearing the bell ring (which was the signal that everything is ready) , going downstairs and seeing the presents under the tree and the shining burning candles on the tree.
Fun Fact: When my siblings and I were little we used to call Christmas decoration (especially fairy lights) "Schön" (because it was so pretty).
Now my parents still use the word, whenever there is a house with nice decoration they say: "Look at all this Schön" :'D
"Früher war mehr Lametta!" 😂
@@Kloetenhenne x'D Der Sketch ist auch Weihnachtstradition ^^
@@Feurigel1806 puh. Zum Glück hab ich jemanden erwischt, der das kennt 😂 ich hatte schon Angst. Heutzutage weiß man ja nie 😄
It’s lovely to see you preparing for Christmas and your children beeing excited 😊
The Christmas traditions really are different throughout the country but there they are also alike. Think about, that Christmas is a Christian Tradition and follows the church calendar. So first difference for me is that we don’t start Christmas time but Advent. Advent are 4 Sunday’s
before Christmas. It means something like waiting for or expecting the birth of Christ. Actually for me, growing up catholic, it‘s a time of reflection and preparing for Christmas. As a kid in the 70th it was very special. We went to church, we made a advent wreath with 4 candles that were lit one after the other on Advent Sundays. There was a lot of baking, crafting, singing, sitting together and reading. Christmas began on 24th, when the tree came in and was decorated. We kids did that and then we had to leave the living room. We saw the tree lit for the first time in the eventing, for „Bescherung“ , when we opened the presents. Late in the evening we went to church for „Christmette“, the night church service to celebrate Christmas. That’s been the best church service of the year, because we where allowed to stay awake until after midnight. The tree stayd up untill 6.January.
We tried to keep a lot of it alive with our kids and they love it. Today it is all very shrill and loud. You have to keep the things that you like and are special and cope with all the commerce and the noise
Have a nice time 🙋🏻♀️
We decorate for Christmas the week before the 1. Advent and we do buy our Christmastree as early as they are available. Then we put it up with only lights and place it outside, that way it looks really pretty from the street. We bring the tree inside on 23.Dezember and fully decorate it then. The tree still remains pretty good for a long time, bc. outside the tree is Not harmed as much. :)