I am from the north and I think I don't know anyone who opens the gifts on the 25th as far as I know it is common to open them on the 24th and we do christkind and weihnachtsmann together they just help each other :)
A little remark: Sankt Nikolaus is celebrated all over Germany, not only in the South. We even have a Sankt Nikolaus market in our town in North West Germany. Concerning the Christkind, we believe that the Christkind and Santa Claus together bring the presents on Christmas Eve. So the Christkind also isn’t an exclusively Southern tradition.😄
Yep, I've never heard of anyone opening gifts the next day in Germany, this is all done on Christmas Eve. It may just be Santa that brings the presents on Christmas Eve and some people will even arrange for a relative to show up in a Santa's costume so the kids will have their gifts handed over by Santa personally.
I was just about to write the same comment, I come from northern Germany and a relatively evangelical Lutterian family. Us visited both St. Nicholas on 6.12. and the "Christkind" on 24.12. evening, announced by a small bell that already rang my great-grandmother at Christmas. I would say that Weihnachtsmann does the same as the Christ Child in the more atheistic households. Religion is beside the point for many families and the Christmas season is so much fun and has so many non-church traditions, so why do without it when there can be another magical being bringing gifts? But I really don't know any German family that opens presents on Christmas Day. What is actually a southern German or Catholic tradition is Krampus and Knecht Ruprecht. I mean we know them, but they are not really part of the traditions. But that makes sense somewhere, considering that one of the main differences of the two faiths is whether there is a hell and thus a punishing God. Catholics say yes, the Evangelical Lutheran Church (the largest Protestant church in Germany) says no. So most church traditions exist in both northern and southern Germany, but mostly a "light version" without devil figures.
Another difference to the US is that most people in Germany put up the Christmas tree later, like on the 23rd or even at the 24th of December. So when we light the candles at Christmas or the Christmas holidays (25th and 26th), the tree isn't that dry. In my familiy the tree always stands until the 6th of January, but by that time it is really dry, so we don't light the real candles anymore because the tree would burn so fast completely.
In my region ( Frankfurt/Main) most people put up their Christmas tree on the 1. Adventstag. So they can enjoy it the whole month. Mostly with electric lights though
I live in the most northern part of Germany and St. Nikolaus Day ist also common here. In fact I think that everybody celebrates the 6th of December everywhere in Germany. The only regional difference is whether Krampus or Knecht Ruprecht accompany St. Nikolaus - as you've already pointed out. Even though I live way up north, my parents told me, that Christkind brings all the gifts. And well, yes, everybody in Germany opens their gifts on Christmas Eve. My parents used to place little and special gifts under or even in the tree on December 25th and 26th and told me, that the Christkind had come back because she had forgotten about one of my presents...
Das ist nicht fair! Sie wohnen ja auch im Märchenland Bayern und nicht in Gelsenkirchen oder anderen Brennpunkten in Germany. Alles Gute und Gesundheit gewünscht!
The “Christkind” isn’t a tradition exclusive to the south of Germany. I have ultra fond memories of it and I’m from the Northwest (the “Ruhrgebiet”). My mom used to open the balcony door a moment before calling us in to find our presents. As a child, you’d come into the room and there would still be a bit of cold air in the room, of course brought in when the Christkind had brought the gifts. Pure magic!
And it's not a catholic thing at all: It was invented my Martin Luther, founder of protestantism, tho shift away from Saint Nikolaus as a gift giver. Happend to become quite popular in all german speaking countries regardless of confession, catholic areas just kept on Nikolaus as an additional gift giver.
@@idnwiw It is not a Catholic invention but was adopted by Catholics when the gift giving part shifted from St. Nikolaus Day to Christmas Eve. These days it is mostly associated with the (historically) more Catholic areas of the country since the (historically) Protestant ones went over to "Weihnachtsmann" instead. Which also fits with the Ruhrgebiet, since that is culturally also more Catholic than Protestant influenced.
@@skyee277 it's effin hilarious, ain't it? Luther creates the Christkind to replace that darned "Saint" Saint Nicholas... and a few centuries later, the Catholics adopted the Christkind and the Protestants over all switched over to the "Weihnachtsmann"/Santa Claus. And Santa Claus is primarily a combination of english Father Christmas and Dutch "Sinterklaas". And guess who "Sinterklaas" is...
Christkind may be a catholic thing, but time of opening christmas gifts is not, at least not in Germany ;) Germans are opening their gifts on Christmas eve, no matter what denomination.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife That was bc M. Luther disapproved the worshiping of saints (hl. Nikolaus). So the Nikolaus could not bring presents anymore - before that most children got there presents on the 6th of December. It seems like his commitment was to no avail, now both days are celebrated. 😂
As a catholic kid in Südbaden I had the privillege of getting presents on December 6th and 24th. In the good old days the presents were bought at the Klausenmarkt at the beginning of December. In our mainly catholic region most modern Weihnachtsmärkte started in the1980s. They have the Apres ski feeling. I think the traditional Weihnachtsmärkte were bigger and more important in the protestant regions. E.g. Nürmberg, Sachsen, Thüringen.
For such a relatively small channel, I'm always amazed at how professionally done and visually pleasing your videos are filmed and edited. You deserve way more subscribers!
About the Christkind/Nikolaus/Weihnachtsmann confusion: During the 19th century, the Weihnachtsmann (and/or Santa Claus) evolved from St. Nicholas (or German Nikolaus), Bishop of Myra, who in the 4th century AD distinguished himself as a merciful rescuer of starving children: boots, a sack with presents and a long white beard from the childish idea of the loving God were combined with the red bishop's regalia and the generosity of St. Nicholas. The Christkind (= Jesus, originally), on the other hand, was strongly promoted as the gift-giver by Martin Luther. He criticized the Catholic veneration of the saints (including St. Nicholas). In 1535 Luther postponed the giving of presents to Christmas. As it is obvious nowadays, the revolution was not fully successful. Nuts, almonds and chocolate, and often presents, are given on Christmas Day as well as on St. Nicholas Eve. The “Holy Christ” whom Luther had chosen to deliver the gifts to the children gradually merged with one of the angelic figures that stood by Mary and Joseph on the night of the birth. The connection between the Christkind and Jesus became less and less clear, until the Christkind was widely considered to be a female angel with golden hair. Strangely enough, the originally Lutheran Christkind tradition is nowadays widely spread in Catholic regions, whereas the Weihnachtsmann persisted in Protestant areas. How that exchange of customs, in which the Catholic gift-giver St. Nicholaus (Santa Claus) became Protestant and the Protestant Christkind became Catholic, actually happened has not yet been conclusively researched.
Interesting to read, even as a German. Grew up protestant in the south-west, Christkind brought the presents and was considered to be baby Jesus. That Christkind is female in other parts of Germany was something I learned as an adult and still feels weird to me
So Jesus still brings the presents in some regions … Interesting. I grew up in Swabia and the „Christkindle“ was always imagined as an angel girl. One day I started to wonder why baby Jesus wasn’t called „Christkind“, which would make sense. That’s why I did some research.
Ich komme aus der Region Osnabrück in Niedersachsen in Norddeutschland. Auch bei uns kam das Christkind. Den Weihnachtsbaum bekamen wir erst am Heiligen Abend zur Bescherung zu sehen. Vorher war der Zugang zum Wohnzimmer für mindestens eine Woche mit einer Decke abgehangen und für uns Kinder eine "No go Area". Am heiligen Abend nach Kirchenbesuch und gemeinsamen Abendessen wurden wir dann weggeschickt. Wenn die Klingel (Das Glöckchen) erklang durften wir zurückkommen zum Wohnzimmer. Sahen zum ersten Mal den festlich geschmückten Raum, den Christbaum und unsere verpackten Geschenke. So war unser Weihnachten. Spannung und Überraschung bis zum Schluss, bis zur Bescherung :o)))
Had to laugh out loud when the closed captions turned Käthe Wohlfahrt into Katie Boulevard 😅 (Btw I grew up in north germany and we always do Nikolaus und when I was little the Christkind came too, so it’s not a strictly southern thing) Thank you for another year of taking us along with you! Frohe Weihnachten, ein besinnliches Fest und einen guten Rutsch in ein gesundes, glückliches neues Jahr!
Clearly, the simplicity of the decorations and traditions make December both meaningful and festive in Germany. And you've helped my Christmas here in NYC be those things too. Thank you!
It honestly waters my eyes to see how you embrace German Christmas traditions and adopt them into your very personal family traditions. Just wonderful.
In Frankfurt we always had Christkind and real candles. And my father drove us to the American military housing area because of the decorated homes there.
Wir sind in Augsburg zuhause und in meiner Kindheit (60er und 70er Jahre) genauso. Wir sind auch immer wieder ins Viertel der amerikanischen Soldaten gefahren, um die mit Lichtern geschmückten Fenster anzuschauen. Sonst war es bei uns nicht üblich
Are you still there? I have not received any yt notification, it seems recently they have changed the algorithm which trouble many yt as they are not notified/get less views etc.
Hi Bernd! Yeah I had to take a break from UA-cam to work on my blog and create a course. We really miss you guys and will be back very soon with a video from our trip to Köln for Karneval!
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife thx, meanwhile I know that, sry. I have checked your IG. Anyway hope you had a great time! Carneval in Cologne is really great!
What a beautiful video ! I love how you are diving into a real cozy and old-fashioned German Christmas ! Your kids will have so many lovely memories of family christmases that include cookie baking, snowman building, decorating, advent afternoons, real wax candles on a real tree and so much more , what a gift you are giving ! Happy Christmas to all of you ! 🎄🥰
I hope you are all ok. I just realized that there wasn't a new video in weeks. I don't mean it as complaint it's just because you posted very regulary in the past I'm a little worried.
...the following is completely off-topic, but only for information, because I found out from friends in Landshut that the medieval spectacle "Landshut Wedding" will take place again this year from 30.06. to 23.07., and that advance ticket sales start today. This is only because your boys are relatively interested in it 😁
Merry christmas, McFalls family! You invented the German-American "Double Fun Christmas"...with "Christkindl" in the Eve and "Santa Clause" on Boxing Day morning! AWESOME!
My husband and I loved living in Nuremberg in 1966 and 1977. My husband was stationed with the US Army in Nuremberg. Our first child was born at the US Army Hospital. Germany has a very special place in our hearts and traditions. I am a new subscriber and I enjoy your Vlogs!
Merry Christmas! We live in the middle of Germany (Hesse), we are Protestant, and we celebrate Nikolaustag (no Krampus here, but Knecht Ruprecht instead). Also, to us the "Christkind" comes on Christmas Eve.
Sara, hello from America. Just today, I learned about your channel by watching Kirsten & Joerg's video about when they rented an English cottage. I just subscribed to her channel and yours today. I think you and Kirsten will be best friends, that is, if you both aren't already. Christmas is a most beautiful time of the year and I'm sure it was very beautiful and festive in Germany. I enjoy the colder weather/season. I wish you and your family all the best.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Yes der Weihnachtsmann starts gibing gifts and Germany and then goes around the world for all the other children. 24h are not nearly enough for the whole world. It has to do with an old tradition that the day ends with sundown and the next day starts.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Yes in many families der "Weihnachtsmann" comes to place the presents under the tree when the family goes to church. And no child ever wonders, why somebody has to stay at home with a flimsy excuse 🤣. Or my parents sent my sister and me upstairs in our room and we heard a very loud knock at the front door. My mom opened and talked to the Weihnachtsmann who answered in a very deep voice (that of course belonged to my Dad but I didn't realize and was very excited). Then my parents rang a little bell and we were allowed to enter the living room to see the enlightened christmas tree with all the presents. So wonderfull memories....
Merry Christmas! Finally you got the original Christmas smell in your house. Real tree plus honey wax candles. You didn't tell about, but I'm sure this must have been a special experience for you, if you never smelled it before 🎄
I hope you feel no pressure to implement all the traditions. I hope you feel no pressure at all to fit in. Sometimes I have the feeling you try so hard to do everything right. Frohe Weihnachten! 😊
Awe thank you for thinking of that. Yeah sometimes I do feel pressure to get it all right because people can be very critical and rude in the comments sometimes. However, most people are so nice and kind, so I have to focus on them! And as a foreigner and as an American I feel like we need to go above and beyond to Iearn about other customs because Americans can be so ignorant about the rest of the world. But I do also love to learn about German customs and incorporate them. So it’s also genuine. Haha, anyway, thank you for your concern! 💕🎄
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Yeah you are really taking it to the next level (in a positive way). Take your time to have some introspection during the cold times and enjoy yourself. Simple as that! Merry Christmas!
When I was a little child we had also this Christkind tradition. Was waiting for the little bell to ring. And I can not tell how big the joy was when I was allowed to enter the dark living room just with the candles lit. Beautiful. And till today we have real candles on our tree.
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I'm so so glad that you guys and especially your kid's could finally have the real experience how Christmas time is celebrated in Bavaria Germany with snow again. Christmas is the time to slow down everything a bit, going back to what is really important at this time and little gifts are of course a nice thing, but just as a surprise. Being together with people we love and spending time together, feeling the magic is for me the best. Doing some traditional things and watching out for new things to open up our minds is pretty cool and you lovely people did it. I'm happy to see you. I wish you a lot of fun, merry Christmas for all family members. Enjoy your holidays 🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️ 🎅🥂🍻🎄🌟🎀🌠🎊✨
Adventskalender: Maybe next year you make them yourself for your kids (or yourselves). Take 24 containers (boxes, socks, bags...), number them, and fill them with the appropriate gift for that day.
@@nothingspecial123Q my mother used to fill them equally with sweets, usefull things and various fun things. i had chocolate, make up, pens, erasers, decorations and so on.
As a kid I liked the DIY Adventscalendar more. St. Nicolaus day and the 24st were special of course and the bigger package always made me wonder what could this possibly be. I remember one year a pair of red socks were used for storing the special things on St. Nicolaus day. I just perceived them as a container and not clothing and so they became victim of the scissors before any adult could intervene.
I think it’s great that you have incorporated Christkind on Christmas Eve! It must just add to the whole cultural experience for the kids. I have only just, since last year, managed to get organised early enough to actually start Christmas on Christmas Eve after years of being caught out! Merry Christmas, Sara! Best wishes for 2023 🤗
Merry Christmas, or should I say, Happy Christmas in the British way? 😊 yeah it’s been so fun to add in Christkind. And it helps so that the kids understand what their friends are talking about and doing here. The more we incorporate German customs, the more we feel like this is home. Otherwise we will always feel like outsiders.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife exactly, that’s just what I thought- your kids can join in the conversation with their friends. We say Merry Christmas, too! And all good wishes are welcome, no matter how they are phrased ❤️
next year: build your own lebkuchenhaus! bake lebkuchen-shindles, build a house and decorate it with dried fruits, candies and sugar-icing 🙂 (and buy a living tree which you can plant out later)
Advent Sunday is huge in the Methodist church here in America, at least in my churches that I belonged to in Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee. I had an advent wreath when my children were small and they had the calendar. Love the “citizens of the world”! Great video!
We got electric lights on our Christmas tree that look like actual candles - so perfect middle ground between a somewhat traditional look, convenience and safety regards. By the way, I love your tree ornaments and the popcorn chain looks like something I'd try as one of your more American decoration ideas. It looks awesome 🥰
I love the way you combine Christkind & Santa! And yes, even though I’ve grown up with Christkind in a Catholic family, I’m still as confused as you are about how Jesus and Christkind relate. I like to think that something pagan has pushed through there.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife I think, someone scandinavian/slavic crushed in the story. There are a lot of young female Christmas characters. Do not know them right, but they are all adorable.
Not the scandinavians Martin Luther. He thought up the Christkind to take the focus off of St. Nikolaus because he didn't like the worshipping of saints. Over the centuries Catholics just incorporated it into their traditions (just like the Protestants with St. Nikolaus and St. Martin) and yay! More opportunities for presents.
@@Nemshee Right. Martin Luther invented the Christ Child to "disempower" Saint Nicholas. Over time, the Christ Child was adopted by the Catholics, while Santa Claus became more and more important in the Protestant areas. Not just since "Coca Cola" - it's been around for at least 200 years. It is only thanks to the American advertising campaign that he is always dressed in red today. His coat (long and hooded) used to be red, white, brown, green, blue, yellow,... In most regions of Germany, St. Nicholas comes secretly at night and puts small gifts in the (freshly cleaned) boots of children (and adults). But in some Catholic regions he also appears "in person". Then he asks the children if they have been good and if they can recite a song or poem. He is often accompanied by Knecht Ruprecht, who is supposed to punish the "bad" children. But the name "Ruprecht" doesn't frighten children everywhere. In the Erzgebirge and Vogtland (Saxony), for example, the "Rupprich" (dialect for "Ruprecht") is none other than Santa Claus. And it comes (everywhere in Germany) in the evening (occasionally even in the afternoon) of December 24th. In some families he (just like the Christ child) secretly puts the presents under the Christmas tree, but mostly he comes into the apartment, asks the children about their behavior in the past year, has poems and songs recited to him (also on the flute, guitar, etc.). ,... audition) and hands over the gifts. In my family (atheists like the majority here in the region - here only about 20-25% of the people are Christians, and most of them are Protestants) he comes secretly while we are eating (according to the Erzgebirge tradition we start exactly at 6 p.m.: 12:00 a.m., and there is soup, then goose, dumplings and red cabbage and finally a dessert) at the end of the meal. An adult has just gone to the toilet - the bell rings, but Santa Claus has disappeared. My nephew (10 years old now) was afraid of Santa when he was a toddler and now it's a family tradition. Sorry for the long text...
Yeah, the advent's calendar is a big deal here. My mom used to hang up a chain of 24 tiny hemp socks. Each sock was filled with different sweets for us kids and sometimes they would be in the shape of little presents and stick out of the sock. We children would be extra-excited when one sock looked especially well-stocked. By the way, if you get a Blautanne for Christmas, you will love the warm, foresty fragrance of it.
In Saxony „Herrnhuter Weihnachtssterne“ are very common. These are available from small to large, single (?🤔) or as a chain of lights, for inside and outside. I love them very much. It’s a must like Pyramide, Räuchermännel and Schwibbogen.
8:58 I watched a video, comparing a US with a German Christmas market. In the US there was "Stille Nacht" sung in German, but the singer sang "Silent Night, Healing Night" instead "Holy Night". Ok, it's not a lie, that this night was also healing, but the original lyrics spoke about "holy".
übrigens, den alten baum kann man, wenn man wie ihr einen garten hat, nach weihnachten auch noch eine weile rausstellen und mit vogelfutter schmücken. meisenknödel, äpfel, meisenringe und vieles mehr sind dann futterquellen für die wildvögel und spannend für die kinder zu beobachten. außerdem kann man vogelfutter auch prima selber mischen und zum aufhängen zb mit kleinen tontöpfen basteln. es gibt hier bei yt viele tolle videos, wie man solche projekte mit kindern gestalten kann.... 🙂
Your Christmas tree turned out so beautiful. So much more beautiful, in my opinion, at least... than all of these overdecorated ones, till you can't recognize the tree itself... 🤔 #HideandSeek Lol...
Hello from South Africa! Me and my mum are planning on moving to Bavaria next year and we love your videos :) We really appreciate your help and advise 🥰💕
Funny, speculaas, any idea where they come from? The windmill is a dead giveaway to the origin. That and the spice trade of old, not really a Bavarian thing, very few harbours there.
As a kid I knew "Weihnachtsmann" and "Christkind". Some of my classmates got gifts from Chrustkind and others from Weihnachtsmann. We always got our presents from the Weihnachtsmann, but when I was little I just aways imagined that Weihnachtsmann and Christkind are working together xD And of course Nikolaus also came on December 6, but we always had to put our "special" Nikolaus plate on the table so that Nikolaus can put the gifts (mainly chocolate, nuts, etc.) on it xD But I also knew about the "Stiefel" tradition, but idk why there are two versions of Nikolaus, one that puts things in the Stiefel and one who puts the things on the plate xD There's even a German Nikolaus Song called: "Lasst uns froh und munter sein", in which the lyrics say: Lasst uns froh und munter sein Und uns recht von Herzen freu'n. Lustig, lustig, tralalalala, Bald ist Niklausabend da, Bald ist Niklausabend da! Dann stell ich den Teller auf, Niklaus legt gewiß was drauf, Lustig, lustig, tralalalala, Bald ist Niklausabend da, Bald ist Niklausabend da! Which says that everyone should be happy, cause the Nikolaus Evening is soon and it talks about putting the plate out, cause Nikolaus will surely put something on it ^^ I think it's funny how even in Germany the tradition is different depending on where you live or where you family comes from xD
Merry christmas my friends. I hope you have a fantastic time, lots of presents for the kids (and the parents of course 😁), and some quiet peaceful days. And then comes the more stressful part of travel again. Fingers crossed that the current weather situation in the US doesn't impact your travel plans too much.🤔 I wish you a good trip and a wonderful time with your families. See you all next year. 😊
@Jay Lee, well, I'm hoping they're just on an extended break and we see something real soon, since I enjoy their videos. I was just wondering since it's been a month now, and I don't remember seeing anything that indicated a longer break but perhaps I missed it?
Another beautiful video! So well explained. Love all your decorations. I also mixed the two cultures for Christmas being from Germany and moving to the States. Now I pass some of the German traditions down to my grandkids. They both love Lebkuchen and they like to light the pyramid every year! Have an awesome time with family in Georgia! Safe travels!
Merry Christmas to all of you. My Mom (70 this year) told me she had "Christkind" in her childhood, and she wrote letters to the Christkind and became presents and a letter back. Sadly my Grandparent's home burnt down in 1961 and the one thing she remembers she was really sad about (she was 11 then) was that all Christkind letters were lost. Krampus is something I don't know, but the other Traditions are all over Germany. Ich hoffe ihr hattet ein frohes Fest am Heiligabend und wunderbare besinnliche Feiertage . Ich wunsche euch allen einen guten Rutsch (ohne Fall) ins Neue Jahr. :-)
Protestant, in the south-west (Ba-Wü) and definitely Christkind brought the presents. And funny enough, for us Christkind basically was baby Jesus and male. I was very confused when I heard for the first time that Christkind in Nuremburg etc. was a girl. Anyone else experienced that? :) Oh, and: definitely always real candles!
All over Germany kids wait for the Christkind on the 24th of December. 🎄 And before. ..on the 6th of December for the Nikolaus. I am from NRW. And if the sky is orange in the evening during Adventszeit....the Christkind is baking christmas cookies. Ah...and kids put their wishlist in their boot or shoe so Nikolaus can take it to Christkind 🦌⛄ All the best, Alice
You don´t have to wait for next Christmas to make a "Stollen"...there is also the "Osterstollen" made for Easter...which is basically the exact same thing. And about Lebkuchen...it is doughier and more fluffy because it is fresh, but it - when home made without preservatives - is a very longlasting treat so when you store it for a while (for months on a dry dark place) it will become hard but it is still edible because of the used special Lebkuchen spices which besides giving it that typical Lebkuchen flavour are also - anti-bacterical - and therefore protects the dough from getting rotten...then as a hard Lebkuchen it got dipped into a mug of tea during tea time in order to become soft again.. And the term "speculatius" refers to the pictures on the cookie...derived from latin verb speculor/speculari for "to look, to watch"...the english term "to speculate" is also related as well obviously = basically "looking forward with a certain expectation"
The speculaas cookie is originally from The Netherlands (and Belgium, but they were once part of The Netherlands) and is a contraction from specerijen (spices/Gewürze) and Sinterklaas (Santa Claus/Sankt Nikolaus). At least that is the most used etymological explanation. In The Netherlands we have speculaas cookies, big speculaas chunks, speculaas filled with almond paste and lots of other speculaas varieties, like ice cream, desserts, cakes. We even eat white bread sandwiches with speculaas cookies and cream butter. Speculaas is also known in areas around The Netherlands or which were once part of The Netherlands, like Rührgebiet/Roergebied, Northern France (the French part of Flanders, around Dunkerque/Duinkerken, Lille/Rijssel, Arras/Atrecht, Ost-Friesland/Oost Friesland/East Frisia, Westphalen/Westfalen/Westfalia and Luxemburg), but also on the Dutch Caribbean, Surinam and former Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia. Even around the city of New York (former New Amsterdam), New York state was once called Nieuw-Nederland/New Netherlands, the cookie is known in some towns upstate. A remnant of the Dutch.
@@RealConstructor the origin of the cookie is not resolved...the only thing which is pretty sure is the fact that it was a big thing in the whole "Low German speaking region" and that includes Netherlands , Belgium and whole Northern Germany which all were once part of the Holy Roman Empire, besides that huge parts of Netherlands and Belgium (Flanders) once was Habsburg´s entity anyway, that´s why it is in Austria also a traditional thing for centuries as well.
I only grew up in the south but I‘m pretty sure all in Germany celebate on Christmas Eve and have Sankt Nicolaus. The tradition differ with Christkind and Weihnachtsmann. But don’t worry, it really is confusing
Christmas time foods… have you tried the „Printen“? They’re probably more common in the NRW area since they originate in Aachen (a great city to visit as well as the Dreiländerpunkt nearby where you can be in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands within one tiny step). So, if you get the chance, try to find Aachener Printen or Kräuterprinten and enjoy. They’re like a variation of Lebkuchen but very special.
I grew up in the US but celebrated St Nicholas Day. My parents were familiar with it (alpine roots) and had enjoyed it while living in Europe. I think it is lovely and wish more Americans were aware of it.
Wie did away with real candles on the tree ages ago because they are a fire hazard (hope you kept a bucket with water nearby, just in case). But naturally the electric ones I have look as close to real one as possible, none of the multicolored lights the Americans favour. Christmas should feel "cozy" after all.
Yeah we did keep a bucket of water nearby and made sure to put the candles on branches that went out farther. It really wasn’t as scary as I thought it would be!
When your husband and your daughter installed the Christmas tree I felt just as excited as them and realized in that moment what a wonderful joint adventure it must be for your family to go abroad and build your life there together, doing and experiencing everything for the first time. I’m sending you the best wishes, hugs and a (belated) warm welcome ❤. I hope you’re happy here.
Christmas magic, beautifully summarized. Children are influenced by it, for their entire lives. My two kids are already adault, but until two years ago they still wanted Christkind to ring the bell while we looked out the window on the upper floor looking for it... what fun for our children. Santa Claus had to come, too, although both had seen through the "game" for a long time. Everyone can attest to how much the Christmas tradition has influenced them and every family has its own Christmas tradition. Merry Christmas. Hans
The normal advent calendars actually always contained and contain only beautiful pictures and no sweets, with which children today are stuffed up to their necks in a highly unhealthy way. That's why tradition-conscious and religious people see the modern, so fully loaded Advent calendar as a bad faux pas of the pleasure-oriented, godless, affluent society that has forgotten its values.
In Austria I`ve never heard of the "Weihnachtsmann" in my childhood, there existed only the Christkind! We wrote a letter to the Christkind with all our wishes a few days before Heiligen abend and laid it to the window and looked every day if he is away. Our parents took the letter in the night silent away and let a little bit Engelshaar (angels hair) on the window bank or on the floor by the window, so we thaught the Christkind got him and lost a curl!
Sankt Nikolaus is a big thing in the North too. But we have the Weihnachtsmann (Santa) on Christmas…. Which can be very confusing. My husband and I are not religious and of course kids learn stuff outside the home too. So, our kids get presents from us on Christmas eve. Although we try to make it one big thing for all of us or both kids together, like my husband made a play table one year and the next we bought Quadro….. On the 25th they get one personal present each from Santa, because they believe in him and on the 26th they get presents from other family members. This way they do not get too much over all and not too much at once, so they don‘t get overwhelmed.
Today only a short comment, but coming out deep of my mind or my soul: 🎄🎄 F R O H E W E I H N A C H T E N 🎄🎄 M E R R Y C H R I S T M A S 🎄🎄 to the whole McFall family ! ! !
About Santa and Christkind: Before the reformation St Nikolaus (December 6th) who also is the Saint for the children brought the gifts. So St Nikolaus was THE day (still is in the Netherlands). Martin Luther saw the tradition of having gifts on Nikolaus day as a part of the veneration of Saints, which he disapproved of. Therefore he invented Christkind who brings the gifts on Holy Eve instead of the Nikolausday. So originally Christkind was a Protestant tradition. In the meantime we simply mix it and celebrate all of it, never mind the confession. Der Weihnachtsmann (Santa) became more popular due to american movies, I guess. Advent is celebrated all over Germany.
Okay, here comes the true story of ALL nations: The whole Christmas story and a date of birth is just a invention ... everybody can create such stories, when he has power on people. The truth is: The time around nowadays christmas was the mothers night in the pre-religious tims. The old name is Mōdraniht. The mothers night was dedicated to the 3 Eternals (3 goddesses). For example, the fairytale of mother Hulda is connected to them. The colors of them are white, red, black. It is not a coincidence, that the Coca-Cola-Santa has the same colors. So now you know: there was a time, when wimen where highly appreciated for their abilities of healing, giving, caring. The female trinity was worshipped before the catholic church and islam (both are the beginning of patriarchy) were invented to control and divide people. In European regions, their names where for example: Ambeth, Wilbeth, Borbeth. In the arabic (Islamic ruled) world: Manat, Uzza, Lat. Copy the name and find pics of them in Google search. Teach your children about them. Especially educate the girls. And show them, how brave the Iranian woman fight for freedom. We need to change the energy of humans with female energy. Worldwide! And this includes the men, too! Matriarchy is not about "women rule the world" Thank you!
Observing Advent Sundays (lighting the candles, reading specific scripture for that Sunday, special meal for dinner, using an Advent calendar) has been my normal protestant experience growing up in the largest city in Texas with German ancestry, so I would say those your explanation about these practices not being incorporated in the U.S, or being more catholic influenced are not necessarily true. I think you just did not necessarily have that experience. We replaced Santa with these Christmas traditions instead, and our community has done the same. I enjoyed the rest of the video - thanks for making these!
This whole thing about "Advent" isnt katholic really .. in fact the whole tradition with the "Adventskranz" it started in Hamburg - which is all but katholic by tradition and it was started by a guy named "Johann Hinrich Wichern" who was the founder of the "Raues Haus" - a (evangelisch ~ protestantic?) foster home for children. He made it with 4 large white candles for each sunday and little red candles for every workday
You might be aware that Nikolaus (6th of December) has a horse. So: You can put a small plate (we use 1 from our coffe pot) with a biscuit beside the shoes and in the morning the biscuit is gone and only a few "Krümel" are left on the small plate. (biscuit was eaten by the horse) Very nice for everyone.
The Christkind was introduced by Luther in the attempt to eliminate the “cults” around saints. So the Christkind is a non-saint substitute for St. Nicholas rooted in Lutheran tradition. The result is now that we have the two, in our region Santiglaus (St. Nicholas) and Schmutzli (similar to Knecht Ruprecht) and the Christkind on Christmas. Also we need to make up stories to our kids on why Santa comes back on Christmas on a sleigh through the chimney, since this is what they see in movies, ads and stores. It can get pretty wild, but as long as they want to believe it seems they are open to a lot of consistency. Looks like no matter how hard you want to separate, culture merges eventually.
Who is St. Nicholas? The true story of Santa Claus begins with Nicholas, who was born during the third century in the village of Patara in Asia Minor. At the time the area was Greek and is now on the southern coast of Turkey. His wealthy parents, who raised him to be a devout Christian, died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young. Obeying Jesus' words to "sell what you own and give the money to the poor," Nicholas used his whole inheritance to assist the needy, the sick, and the suffering. He dedicated his life to serving God and was made Bishop of Myra while still a young man. Bishop Nicholas became known throughout the land for his generosity to those in need, his love for children, and his concern for sailors and ships.
The Christkind is not a Jesuskind it`s more like an angels helping the Weihnachtsmann I learned. I was born and raised in Lower Saxony in a protestant family. On holy evening came the Chriskind sometimes with the help of the Weihnachtsmann. Today with my on family living in Berlin the Christkind is flying through the window and next day the Weihnachtsmann came but that´s my new tradition. The Christkind is very out in Berlin.
We always go to some Christmas-tree plantation here in our forest. There you can saw off the tree that you want and so you make sure that is it freshly-cut and has not been felled weeks before. It is immediately put into a bucket with water and has to wait there a couple of days before we take it in around the 23rd of December. And again the tree stand is a stoneware basin that is filled with water. It is only in early January that the tree "understands" that it is dead and stops sucking up water. We always see to it that is is a blue spruce. The needles are all aroud the twigs, they are hard and stingy, but they smell very strong and the twigs are very firm and stiff. Secondly the branches are not very close together and that is ideal when you have real candles as we do.
We twice took a museum steam train to Remscheid. There we went into such a plantage and saw our own x-mas tree. The trees were taken by bus to the steam train. And we travelled back with that train. The most difficult part later was the last mile to get our huge chrustmas tree home in the crowded S-Bahn. 😂
Let me whisper something into your ear: You sawed your tree, not saw it. Be sure, you are not the first one to be confused by "see- saw-seen" and "saw-sawed-sawn". I remember that someone in my class once wrote "I did not saw my sister." instead of "I did not see". @@maxmustermann3285
Maybe don't think about Knecht Ruprecht as evil - he's more the servant of the christkind and has to carry the sack wth the presents because that would be to big for a child. And he also has to carry out its will, the giving of the presents or the punishment of "evil children". He's like a proto Santa/ Weihnachtsmann.
Hello, very nice video about Christmas, well done! The Christmas tree was also beautifully decorated and the "real" candles reminded me of my childhood, which was several decades ago. What I was missing were the balls and the tinsel (lametta), which might have overloaded the tree.
Es war so schön zu sehen, dass ihr echte Kerzen am Weihnachtsbaum hattet. Ich denke , die Stimmung ist eine ganz andere, als wenn man eine LED-Lichterkette hat. Ich hoffe ihr hattet schöne Weihnachten - so wie ich.
there is one thing that you havent discvered: THE german Christmas Film "Drei Haselnüsse für Aschenbrödel".Like "the wizard of oz" in the USA. Unfortunately its not available in english
There is always something depressing about November and December with the short days and long, cold nights. But the candles and the joy of Christmas make up for it. And then the year is over and a new one begins. When snow falls in February, the world is enchanted.
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I am from the north and I think I don't know anyone who opens the gifts on the 25th as far as I know it is common to open them on the 24th and we do christkind and weihnachtsmann together they just help each other :)
A little remark: Sankt Nikolaus is celebrated all over Germany, not only in the South. We even have a Sankt Nikolaus market in our town in North West Germany.
Concerning the Christkind, we believe that the Christkind and Santa Claus together bring the presents on Christmas Eve. So the Christkind also isn’t an exclusively Southern tradition.😄
Okay good to know!
Yep, I've never heard of anyone opening gifts the next day in Germany, this is all done on Christmas Eve. It may just be Santa that brings the presents on Christmas Eve and some people will even arrange for a relative to show up in a Santa's costume so the kids will have their gifts handed over by Santa personally.
Yes and the greetings to the Advent the first etc. Is also all over Germany
I liked Sankt Martin the most, when I was a kid.
I was just about to write the same comment, I come from northern Germany and a relatively evangelical Lutterian family. Us visited both St. Nicholas on 6.12. and the "Christkind" on 24.12. evening, announced by a small bell that already rang my great-grandmother at Christmas. I would say that Weihnachtsmann does the same as the Christ Child in the more atheistic households. Religion is beside the point for many families and the Christmas season is so much fun and has so many non-church traditions, so why do without it when there can be another magical being bringing gifts? But I really don't know any German family that opens presents on Christmas Day.
What is actually a southern German or Catholic tradition is Krampus and Knecht Ruprecht. I mean we know them, but they are not really part of the traditions. But that makes sense somewhere, considering that one of the main differences of the two faiths is whether there is a hell and thus a punishing God. Catholics say yes, the Evangelical Lutheran Church (the largest Protestant church in Germany) says no. So most church traditions exist in both northern and southern Germany, but mostly a "light version" without devil figures.
Another difference to the US is that most people in Germany put up the Christmas tree later, like on the 23rd or even at the 24th of December. So when we light the candles at Christmas or the Christmas holidays (25th and 26th), the tree isn't that dry. In my familiy the tree always stands until the 6th of January, but by that time it is really dry, so we don't light the real candles anymore because the tree would burn so fast completely.
Ah yes very good points.
In my region ( Frankfurt/Main) most people put up their Christmas tree on the 1. Adventstag. So they can enjoy it the whole month. Mostly with electric lights though
I live in the most northern part of Germany and St. Nikolaus Day ist also common here. In fact I think that everybody celebrates the 6th of December everywhere in Germany. The only regional difference is whether Krampus or Knecht Ruprecht accompany St. Nikolaus - as you've already pointed out.
Even though I live way up north, my parents told me, that Christkind brings all the gifts. And well, yes, everybody in Germany opens their gifts on Christmas Eve. My parents used to place little and special gifts under or even in the tree on December 25th and 26th and told me, that the Christkind had come back because she had forgotten about one of my presents...
Okay great! Thanks for clearing that up.
You are on the fast track to be more German than the Germans xD … I love your joy experiencing stuff.
Hahaha love it! 😍🥰
This.
Das ist nicht fair! Sie wohnen ja auch im Märchenland Bayern und nicht in Gelsenkirchen oder anderen Brennpunkten in Germany.
Alles Gute und Gesundheit gewünscht!
@@milanas.4666 Wie wärs mit Castrop Rauxel? hahaha
The “Christkind” isn’t a tradition exclusive to the south of Germany. I have ultra fond memories of it and I’m from the Northwest (the “Ruhrgebiet”). My mom used to open the balcony door a moment before calling us in to find our presents.
As a child, you’d come into the room and there would still be a bit of cold air in the room, of course brought in when the Christkind had brought the gifts. Pure magic!
Oh I love it! ❤
Yes it was magic. I love the bit with the cold air. ♥️
And it's not a catholic thing at all: It was invented my Martin Luther, founder of protestantism, tho shift away from Saint Nikolaus as a gift giver. Happend to become quite popular in all german speaking countries regardless of confession, catholic areas just kept on Nikolaus as an additional gift giver.
@@idnwiw It is not a Catholic invention but was adopted by Catholics when the gift giving part shifted from St. Nikolaus Day to Christmas Eve. These days it is mostly associated with the (historically) more Catholic areas of the country since the (historically) Protestant ones went over to "Weihnachtsmann" instead. Which also fits with the Ruhrgebiet, since that is culturally also more Catholic than Protestant influenced.
@@skyee277 it's effin hilarious, ain't it? Luther creates the Christkind to replace that darned "Saint" Saint Nicholas... and a few centuries later, the Catholics adopted the Christkind and the Protestants over all switched over to the "Weihnachtsmann"/Santa Claus. And Santa Claus is primarily a combination of english Father Christmas and Dutch "Sinterklaas". And guess who "Sinterklaas" is...
Christkind may be a catholic thing, but time of opening christmas gifts is not, at least not in Germany ;) Germans are opening their gifts on Christmas eve, no matter what denomination.
Christkind was invented by Martin Luther to replace Santa Claus.
Ah okay I wasn’t sure about that. Thanks for clearing it up!
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife That was bc M. Luther disapproved the worshiping of saints (hl. Nikolaus). So the Nikolaus could not bring presents anymore - before that most children got there presents on the 6th of December. It seems like his commitment was to no avail, now both days are celebrated. 😂
Santa starts at Christmas eve and the night is for UK and USA
As a catholic kid in Südbaden I had the privillege of getting presents on December 6th and 24th. In the good old days the presents were bought at the Klausenmarkt at the beginning of December. In our mainly catholic region most modern Weihnachtsmärkte started in the1980s. They have the Apres ski feeling. I think the traditional Weihnachtsmärkte were bigger and more important in the protestant regions. E.g. Nürmberg, Sachsen, Thüringen.
For such a relatively small channel, I'm always amazed at how professionally done and visually pleasing your videos are filmed and edited. You deserve way more subscribers!
Thank you so much! 🎄💕
That's what I always think, too! So very well made, Sara!
About the Christkind/Nikolaus/Weihnachtsmann confusion: During the 19th century, the Weihnachtsmann (and/or Santa Claus) evolved from St. Nicholas (or German Nikolaus), Bishop of Myra, who in the 4th century AD distinguished himself as a merciful rescuer of starving children: boots, a sack with presents and a long white beard from the childish idea of the loving God were combined with the red bishop's regalia and the generosity of St. Nicholas.
The Christkind (= Jesus, originally), on the other hand, was strongly promoted as the gift-giver by Martin Luther. He criticized the Catholic veneration of the saints (including St. Nicholas). In 1535 Luther postponed the giving of presents to Christmas. As it is obvious nowadays, the revolution was not fully successful. Nuts, almonds and chocolate, and often presents, are given on Christmas Day as well as on St. Nicholas Eve. The “Holy Christ” whom Luther had chosen to deliver the gifts to the children gradually merged with one of the angelic figures that stood by Mary and Joseph on the night of the birth. The connection between the Christkind and Jesus became less and less clear, until the Christkind was widely considered to be a female angel with golden hair.
Strangely enough, the originally Lutheran Christkind tradition is nowadays widely spread in Catholic regions, whereas the Weihnachtsmann persisted in Protestant areas. How that exchange of customs, in which the Catholic gift-giver St. Nicholaus (Santa Claus) became Protestant and the Protestant Christkind became Catholic, actually happened has not yet been conclusively researched.
Interesting to read, even as a German. Grew up protestant in the south-west, Christkind brought the presents and was considered to be baby Jesus. That Christkind is female in other parts of Germany was something I learned as an adult and still feels weird to me
So Jesus still brings the presents in some regions … Interesting. I grew up in Swabia and the „Christkindle“ was always imagined as an angel girl. One day I started to wonder why baby Jesus wasn’t called „Christkind“, which would make sense. That’s why I did some research.
Ich komme aus der Region Osnabrück in Niedersachsen in Norddeutschland. Auch bei uns kam das Christkind. Den Weihnachtsbaum bekamen wir erst am Heiligen Abend zur Bescherung zu sehen. Vorher war der Zugang zum Wohnzimmer für mindestens eine Woche mit einer Decke abgehangen und für uns Kinder eine "No go Area". Am heiligen Abend nach Kirchenbesuch und gemeinsamen Abendessen wurden wir dann weggeschickt. Wenn die Klingel (Das Glöckchen) erklang durften wir zurückkommen zum Wohnzimmer. Sahen zum ersten Mal den festlich geschmückten Raum, den Christbaum und unsere verpackten Geschenke. So war unser Weihnachten. Spannung und Überraschung bis zum Schluss, bis zur Bescherung :o)))
Had to laugh out loud when the closed captions turned Käthe Wohlfahrt into Katie Boulevard 😅
(Btw I grew up in north germany and we always do Nikolaus und when I was little the Christkind came too, so it’s not a strictly southern thing)
Thank you for another year of taking us along with you! Frohe Weihnachten, ein besinnliches Fest und einen guten Rutsch in ein gesundes, glückliches neues Jahr!
I always wait for: we are a family of six with four kids, a cat and 354 hamsters...
😂😂😂 so funny!
😂♥️
Clearly, the simplicity of the decorations and traditions make December both meaningful and festive in Germany. And you've helped my Christmas here in NYC be those things too. Thank you!
It honestly waters my eyes to see how you embrace German Christmas traditions and adopt them into your very personal family traditions. Just wonderful.
Dankeschön! You have beautiful Christmas traditions here.
I felt the same!!! How curious, embracing and enthusiastic they are!!!❤
In Frankfurt we always had Christkind and real candles. And my father drove us to the American military housing area because of the decorated homes there.
Oh very nice!
Wir sind in Augsburg zuhause und in meiner Kindheit (60er und 70er Jahre) genauso. Wir sind auch immer wieder ins Viertel der amerikanischen Soldaten gefahren, um die mit Lichtern geschmückten Fenster anzuschauen.
Sonst war es bei uns nicht üblich
Are you still there? I have not received any yt notification, it seems recently they have changed the algorithm which trouble many yt as they are not notified/get less views etc.
They are taking a break for some time
Hi Bernd! Yeah I had to take a break from UA-cam to work on my blog and create a course. We really miss you guys and will be back very soon with a video from our trip to Köln for Karneval!
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife thx, meanwhile I know that, sry. I have checked your IG. Anyway hope you had a great time! Carneval in Cologne is really great!
What a beautiful video ! I love how you are diving into a real cozy and old-fashioned German Christmas ! Your kids will have so many lovely memories of family christmases that include cookie baking, snowman building, decorating, advent afternoons, real wax candles on a real tree and so much more , what a gift you are giving ! Happy Christmas to all of you ! 🎄🥰
I hope you are all ok. I just realized that there wasn't a new video in weeks. I don't mean it as complaint it's just because you posted very regulary in the past I'm a little worried.
...the following is completely off-topic, but only for information, because I found out from friends in Landshut that the medieval spectacle "Landshut Wedding" will take place again this year from 30.06. to 23.07., and that advance ticket sales start today. This is only because your boys are relatively interested in it 😁
Merry christmas, McFalls family!
You invented the German-American "Double Fun Christmas"...with "Christkindl" in the Eve and "Santa Clause" on Boxing Day morning! AWESOME!
Dankeschön! Frohe Weihnachten!
We celebrated Nikolaustag in my family, my mom’s family was German-American (Wisconsin). Also Advent!
Very nice!
My husband and I loved living in Nuremberg in 1966 and 1977. My husband was stationed with the US Army in Nuremberg. Our first child was born at the US Army Hospital. Germany has a very special place in our hearts and traditions. I am a new subscriber and I enjoy your Vlogs!
How wonderful! 💕🎄☃️
Merry Christmas! We live in the middle of Germany (Hesse), we are Protestant, and we celebrate Nikolaustag (no Krampus here, but Knecht Ruprecht instead). Also, to us the "Christkind" comes on Christmas Eve.
Sara, hello from America. Just today, I learned about your channel by watching Kirsten & Joerg's video about when they rented an English cottage. I just subscribed to her channel and yours today. I think you and Kirsten will be best friends, that is, if you both aren't already. Christmas is a most beautiful time of the year and I'm sure it was very beautiful and festive in Germany. I enjoy the colder weather/season. I wish you and your family all the best.
Another big difference in Germany. Gifts are given on the evening of 24 December
Right! So is this even for families that celebrate der Weihnachtsmann?
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife yes it is :) Hello from Hamburg
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Exactly, the Weihnachtsmann comes on the evening of the 24th when everything is dark.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Yes der Weihnachtsmann starts gibing gifts and Germany and then goes around the world for all the other children. 24h are not nearly enough for the whole world.
It has to do with an old tradition that the day ends with sundown and the next day starts.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Yes in many families der "Weihnachtsmann" comes to place the presents under the tree when the family goes to church. And no child ever wonders, why somebody has to stay at home with a flimsy excuse 🤣. Or my parents sent my sister and me upstairs in our room and we heard a very loud knock at the front door. My mom opened and talked to the Weihnachtsmann who answered in a very deep voice (that of course belonged to my Dad but I didn't realize and was very excited). Then my parents rang a little bell and we were allowed to enter the living room to see the enlightened christmas tree with all the presents. So wonderfull memories....
Merry Christmas!
Finally you got the original Christmas smell in your house. Real tree plus honey wax candles. You didn't tell about, but I'm sure this must have been a special experience for you, if you never smelled it before 🎄
I hope you feel no pressure to implement all the traditions. I hope you feel no pressure at all to fit in. Sometimes I have the feeling you try so hard to do everything right.
Frohe Weihnachten! 😊
Awe thank you for thinking of that. Yeah sometimes I do feel pressure to get it all right because people can be very critical and rude in the comments sometimes. However, most people are so nice and kind, so I have to focus on them! And as a foreigner and as an American I feel like we need to go above and beyond to Iearn about other customs because Americans can be so ignorant about the rest of the world. But I do also love to learn about German customs and incorporate them. So it’s also genuine. Haha, anyway, thank you for your concern! 💕🎄
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Yeah you are really taking it to the next level (in a positive way). Take your time to have some introspection during the cold times and enjoy yourself. Simple as that! Merry Christmas!
When I was a little child we had also this Christkind tradition. Was waiting for the little bell to ring. And I can not tell how big the joy was when I was allowed to enter the dark living room just with the candles lit. Beautiful. And till today we have real candles on our tree.
Oh I love it! Last night we lit the candles on the tee and read some of our favorite Christmas stories.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Wie schön. You make beautuful memories for your kids. ♥️😊
Hello, my friend 👋 hope you are well 🌹
It's a pleasure to visit such splendid sharing 👍excellent, entertaining videos.
Your video is so impressive! I'm happy to be here!
Thanks for showing us these outstanding views 😊 much appreciated 💯👪
Have a pleasant day ahead 🌹
God bless you and your family 🙏
See you again! Here is your friend Athir from Canada 😊 🌹🇨🇦
Popcon and Chirstmas feels very American. I love how you mix and match!
Oh does it! I thought it came from the old days - Queen Victoria and Prince Albert popularized it.
I'm so so glad that you guys and especially your kid's could finally have the real experience how Christmas time is celebrated in Bavaria Germany with snow again. Christmas is the time to slow down everything a bit, going back to what is really important at this time and little gifts are of course a nice thing, but just as a surprise. Being together with people we love and spending time together, feeling the magic is for me the best. Doing some traditional things and watching out for new things to open up our minds is pretty cool and you lovely people did it. I'm happy to see you.
I wish you a lot of fun, merry Christmas for all family members. Enjoy your holidays 🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️
🎅🥂🍻🎄🌟🎀🌠🎊✨
Adventskalender: Maybe next year you make them yourself for your kids (or yourselves). Take 24 containers (boxes, socks, bags...), number them, and fill them with the appropriate gift for that day.
There are so many ideas for DIY Adventskalender but it is very hard to fill them for 4 kids if you want to put in useful things and not only sweets 😉
@@nothingspecial123Q my mother used to fill them equally with sweets, usefull things and various fun things. i had chocolate, make up, pens, erasers, decorations and so on.
As a kid I liked the DIY Adventscalendar more. St. Nicolaus day and the 24st were special of course and the bigger package always made me wonder what could this possibly be. I remember one year a pair of red socks were used for storing the special things on St. Nicolaus day. I just perceived them as a container and not clothing and so they became victim of the scissors before any adult could intervene.
I think it’s great that you have incorporated Christkind on Christmas Eve! It must just add to the whole cultural experience for the kids. I have only just, since last year, managed to get organised early enough to actually start Christmas on Christmas Eve after years of being caught out! Merry Christmas, Sara! Best wishes for 2023 🤗
Merry Christmas, or should I say, Happy Christmas in the British way? 😊 yeah it’s been so fun to add in Christkind. And it helps so that the kids understand what their friends are talking about and doing here. The more we incorporate German customs, the more we feel like this is home. Otherwise we will always feel like outsiders.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife exactly, that’s just what I thought- your kids can join in the conversation with their friends.
We say Merry Christmas, too! And all good wishes are welcome, no matter how they are phrased ❤️
next year: build your own lebkuchenhaus! bake lebkuchen-shindles, build a house and decorate it with dried fruits, candies and sugar-icing 🙂 (and buy a living tree which you can plant out later)
Advent Sunday is huge in the Methodist church here in America, at least in my churches that I belonged to in Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee. I had an advent wreath when my children were small and they had the calendar. Love the “citizens of the world”! Great video!
We got electric lights on our Christmas tree that look like actual candles - so perfect middle ground between a somewhat traditional look, convenience and safety regards. By the way, I love your tree ornaments and the popcorn chain looks like something I'd try as one of your more American decoration ideas. It looks awesome 🥰
We have those lights, too, we just wanted to try the real ones this year and it was wonderful! I’m so glad we tried it.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Totally understandable, there's something so magical about real candle light 🥰
I love your videos!
When we see and live other countries, we get more aware of our own culture ❤❤❤❤❤
I love the way you combine Christkind & Santa!
And yes, even though I’ve grown up with Christkind in a Catholic family, I’m still as confused as you are about how Jesus and Christkind relate. I like to think that something pagan has pushed through there.
Yeah probably so! I need to look up the origins of it. Christkind is so cute so I guess it doesn’t matter. 😂🎅🏼☃️
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife I think, someone scandinavian/slavic crushed in the story. There are a lot of young female Christmas characters. Do not know them right, but they are all adorable.
Your comment confuses me even more: Santa and Christ relate?
Not the scandinavians Martin Luther. He thought up the Christkind to take the focus off of St. Nikolaus because he didn't like the worshipping of saints. Over the centuries Catholics just incorporated it into their traditions (just like the Protestants with St. Nikolaus and St. Martin) and yay! More opportunities for presents.
@@Nemshee Right. Martin Luther invented the Christ Child to "disempower" Saint Nicholas.
Over time, the Christ Child was adopted by the Catholics, while Santa Claus became more and more important in the Protestant areas. Not just since "Coca Cola" - it's been around for at least 200 years. It is only thanks to the American advertising campaign that he is always dressed in red today. His coat (long and hooded) used to be red, white, brown, green, blue, yellow,...
In most regions of Germany, St. Nicholas comes secretly at night and puts small gifts in the (freshly cleaned) boots of children (and adults). But in some Catholic regions he also appears "in person". Then he asks the children if they have been good and if they can recite a song or poem. He is often accompanied by Knecht Ruprecht, who is supposed to punish the "bad" children.
But the name "Ruprecht" doesn't frighten children everywhere. In the Erzgebirge and Vogtland (Saxony), for example, the "Rupprich" (dialect for "Ruprecht") is none other than Santa Claus.
And it comes (everywhere in Germany) in the evening (occasionally even in the afternoon) of December 24th. In some families he (just like the Christ child) secretly puts the presents under the Christmas tree, but mostly he comes into the apartment, asks the children about their behavior in the past year, has poems and songs recited to him (also on the flute, guitar, etc.). ,... audition) and hands over the gifts.
In my family (atheists like the majority here in the region - here only about 20-25% of the people are Christians, and most of them are Protestants) he comes secretly while we are eating (according to the Erzgebirge tradition we start exactly at 6 p.m.: 12:00 a.m., and there is soup, then goose, dumplings and red cabbage and finally a dessert) at the end of the meal. An adult has just gone to the toilet - the bell rings, but Santa Claus has disappeared. My nephew (10 years old now) was afraid of Santa when he was a toddler and now it's a family tradition.
Sorry for the long text...
Yeah, the advent's calendar is a big deal here. My mom used to hang up a chain of 24 tiny hemp socks. Each sock was filled with different sweets for us kids and sometimes they would be in the shape of little presents and stick out of the sock. We children would be extra-excited when one sock looked especially well-stocked. By the way, if you get a Blautanne for Christmas, you will love the warm, foresty fragrance of it.
In Saxony „Herrnhuter Weihnachtssterne“ are very common. These are available from small to large, single (?🤔) or as a chain of lights, for inside and outside. I love them very much. It’s a must like Pyramide, Räuchermännel and Schwibbogen.
8:58 I watched a video, comparing a US with a German Christmas market. In the US there was "Stille Nacht" sung in German, but the singer sang "Silent Night, Healing Night" instead "Holy Night". Ok, it's not a lie, that this night was also healing, but the original lyrics spoke about "holy".
übrigens, den alten baum kann man, wenn man wie ihr einen garten hat, nach weihnachten auch noch eine weile rausstellen und mit vogelfutter schmücken. meisenknödel, äpfel, meisenringe und vieles mehr sind dann futterquellen für die wildvögel und spannend für die kinder zu beobachten. außerdem kann man vogelfutter auch prima selber mischen und zum aufhängen zb mit kleinen tontöpfen basteln. es gibt hier bei yt viele tolle videos, wie man solche projekte mit kindern gestalten kann.... 🙂
Your Christmas tree turned out so beautiful. So much more beautiful, in my opinion, at least... than all of these overdecorated ones, till you can't recognize the tree itself... 🤔 #HideandSeek Lol...
Hahah right! Try and find the tree 😂
Hello from South Africa! Me and my mum are planning on moving to Bavaria next year and we love your videos :) We really appreciate your help and advise 🥰💕
We wish you all the best! 💕
Funny, speculaas, any idea where they come from? The windmill is a dead giveaway to the origin. That and the spice trade of old, not really a Bavarian thing, very few harbours there.
Yes we know they come from the Netherlands 🙂
As a kid I knew "Weihnachtsmann" and "Christkind".
Some of my classmates got gifts from Chrustkind and others from Weihnachtsmann.
We always got our presents from the Weihnachtsmann, but when I was little I just aways imagined that Weihnachtsmann and Christkind are working together xD
And of course Nikolaus also came on December 6, but we always had to put our "special" Nikolaus plate on the table so that Nikolaus can put the gifts (mainly chocolate, nuts, etc.) on it xD
But I also knew about the "Stiefel" tradition, but idk why there are two versions of Nikolaus, one that puts things in the Stiefel and one who puts the things on the plate xD
There's even a German Nikolaus Song called: "Lasst uns froh und munter sein", in which the lyrics say:
Lasst uns froh und munter sein
Und uns recht von Herzen freu'n.
Lustig, lustig, tralalalala,
Bald ist Niklausabend da,
Bald ist Niklausabend da!
Dann stell ich den Teller auf,
Niklaus legt gewiß was drauf,
Lustig, lustig, tralalalala,
Bald ist Niklausabend da,
Bald ist Niklausabend da!
Which says that everyone should be happy, cause the Nikolaus Evening is soon and it talks about putting the plate out, cause Nikolaus will surely put something on it ^^
I think it's funny how even in Germany the tradition is different depending on where you live or where you family comes from xD
Was ich an euren Weihnachtsbaum vermisse ist das Lametta das gehört eigentlich an jeden Weihnachtsbaum
Ja ja, früher war mehr Lametta ... 🙂
Merry christmas my friends. I hope you have a fantastic time, lots of presents for the kids (and the parents of course 😁), and some quiet peaceful days. And then comes the more stressful part of travel again. Fingers crossed that the current weather situation in the US doesn't impact your travel plans too much.🤔 I wish you a good trip and a wonderful time with your families.
See you all next year. 😊
Haven't seen any new posts in about a month from you. Are you on break or are you no longer posting content? Which would be a shame.
@Jay Lee, well, I'm hoping they're just on an extended break and we see something real soon, since I enjoy their videos. I was just wondering since it's been a month now, and I don't remember seeing anything that indicated a longer break but perhaps I missed it?
They posted in their community tab 2 weeks ago that they are taking a break!
Loved every single second of this video. A million thanks from the UK xx
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Another beautiful video! So well explained. Love all your decorations. I also mixed the two cultures for Christmas being from Germany and moving to the States. Now I pass some of the German traditions down to my grandkids. They both love Lebkuchen and they like to light the pyramid every year! Have an awesome time with family in Georgia! Safe travels!
Lovely video!!!
Enjoy your channel very much !! Thanks!!!!
Season Greetings Merry Christmas from Southern Ontario 😊🍁🎅☃️🌲
Never saw a Popcorn Tree before 😅
It’s an old fashioned thing Americans and British used to do, I think
Für den Lebkuchen braucht man echten Rum. Orangenat und Zitronat.
Ooo yum!
So true what you said about what living abroad does to someone . I expirenced it myself
Merry Christmas to all of you. My Mom (70 this year) told me she had "Christkind" in her childhood, and she wrote letters to the Christkind and became presents and a letter back. Sadly my Grandparent's home burnt down in 1961 and the one thing she remembers she was really sad about (she was 11 then) was that all Christkind letters were lost. Krampus is something I don't know, but the other Traditions are all over Germany. Ich hoffe ihr hattet ein frohes Fest am Heiligabend und wunderbare besinnliche Feiertage . Ich wunsche euch allen einen guten Rutsch (ohne Fall) ins Neue Jahr. :-)
Wiele tych niemieckich zwyczajów przyjęło się w moim kraju. Uwielbiam je!💝
Protestant, in the south-west (Ba-Wü) and definitely Christkind brought the presents. And funny enough, for us Christkind basically was baby Jesus and male. I was very confused when I heard for the first time that Christkind in Nuremburg etc. was a girl. Anyone else experienced that? :)
Oh, and: definitely always real candles!
Same here. Christkind was Baby Jesus for me.
All over Germany kids wait for the Christkind on the 24th of December. 🎄 And before. ..on the 6th of December for the Nikolaus. I am from NRW. And if the sky is orange in the evening during Adventszeit....the Christkind is baking christmas cookies. Ah...and kids put their wishlist in their boot or shoe so Nikolaus can take it to Christkind 🦌⛄
All the best, Alice
Since the British royal family is basically german in origin they have also Tradition to give the Christmas presents on Christmas eve.
Merry Christmas to you all, including the cat and the rat... sorry, hamsters!
😂😂 oh they are totally rats, well, without the pointy face, long tail and super sharp teeth.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife 😂😂
You don´t have to wait for next Christmas to make a "Stollen"...there is also the "Osterstollen" made for Easter...which is basically the exact same thing.
And about Lebkuchen...it is doughier and more fluffy because it is fresh, but it - when home made without preservatives - is a very longlasting treat so when you store it for a while (for months on a dry dark place) it will become hard but it is still edible because of the used special Lebkuchen spices which besides giving it that typical Lebkuchen flavour are also - anti-bacterical - and therefore protects the dough from getting rotten...then as a hard Lebkuchen it got dipped into a mug of tea during tea time in order to become soft again..
And the term "speculatius" refers to the pictures on the cookie...derived from latin verb speculor/speculari for "to look, to watch"...the english term "to speculate" is also related as well obviously = basically "looking forward with a certain expectation"
You can also put slices of apples to the Lebkuchen to get them soft again.
Oh really! I didn’t know that about the Easter Stollen! I will definitely have to make that this year.
The speculaas cookie is originally from The Netherlands (and Belgium, but they were once part of The Netherlands) and is a contraction from specerijen (spices/Gewürze) and Sinterklaas (Santa Claus/Sankt Nikolaus). At least that is the most used etymological explanation. In The Netherlands we have speculaas cookies, big speculaas chunks, speculaas filled with almond paste and lots of other speculaas varieties, like ice cream, desserts, cakes. We even eat white bread sandwiches with speculaas cookies and cream butter. Speculaas is also known in areas around The Netherlands or which were once part of The Netherlands, like Rührgebiet/Roergebied, Northern France (the French part of Flanders, around Dunkerque/Duinkerken, Lille/Rijssel, Arras/Atrecht, Ost-Friesland/Oost Friesland/East Frisia, Westphalen/Westfalen/Westfalia and Luxemburg), but also on the Dutch Caribbean, Surinam and former Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia. Even around the city of New York (former New Amsterdam), New York state was once called Nieuw-Nederland/New Netherlands, the cookie is known in some towns upstate. A remnant of the Dutch.
@@RealConstructor the origin of the cookie is not resolved...the only thing which is pretty sure is the fact that it was a big thing in the whole "Low German speaking region" and that includes Netherlands , Belgium and whole Northern Germany which all were once part of the Holy Roman Empire, besides that huge parts of Netherlands and Belgium (Flanders) once was Habsburg´s entity anyway, that´s why it is in Austria also a traditional thing for centuries as well.
Never heard of oster stollen 😵
Here in the South "WE" call it Christkindlmarkt☺️ Have a great Christmas. Looking forward to your Silvester- video.
Yes! WE 😂
I only grew up in the south but I‘m pretty sure all in Germany celebate on Christmas Eve and have Sankt Nicolaus. The tradition differ with Christkind and Weihnachtsmann. But don’t worry, it really is confusing
It can be sooo confusing to know how different Germans celebrate different holidays! Haha
Christmas time foods… have you tried the „Printen“? They’re probably more common in the NRW area since they originate in Aachen (a great city to visit as well as the Dreiländerpunkt nearby where you can be in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands within one tiny step).
So, if you get the chance, try to find Aachener Printen or Kräuterprinten and enjoy. They’re like a variation of Lebkuchen but very special.
I grew up in the US but celebrated St Nicholas Day. My parents were familiar with it (alpine roots) and had enjoyed it while living in Europe. I think it is lovely and wish more Americans were aware of it.
Wie did away with real candles on the tree ages ago because they are a fire hazard (hope you kept a bucket with water nearby, just in case). But naturally the electric ones I have look as close to real one as possible, none of the multicolored lights the Americans favour. Christmas should feel "cozy" after all.
Yeah we did keep a bucket of water nearby and made sure to put the candles on branches that went out farther. It really wasn’t as scary as I thought it would be!
I love the music you selected for Christmas tree scenes and the scenes at 21:07. The music matches perfectly.
On Nikolausday we put only ONE Boot out, not both.
And all germans are opening there x-mas Gifts on christmas eve.
When your husband and your daughter installed the Christmas tree I felt just as excited as them and realized in that moment what a wonderful joint adventure it must be for your family to go abroad and build your life there together, doing and experiencing everything for the first time. I’m sending you the best wishes, hugs and a (belated) warm welcome ❤. I hope you’re happy here.
Christmas magic, beautifully summarized. Children are influenced by it, for their entire lives. My two kids are already adault, but until two years ago they still wanted Christkind to ring the bell while we looked out the window on the upper floor looking for it... what fun for our children. Santa Claus had to come, too, although both had seen through the "game" for a long time.
Everyone can attest to how much the Christmas tradition has influenced them and every family has its own Christmas tradition.
Merry Christmas.
Hans
The normal advent calendars actually always contained and contain only beautiful pictures and no sweets, with which children today are stuffed up to their necks in a highly unhealthy way. That's why tradition-conscious and religious people see the modern, so fully loaded Advent calendar as a bad faux pas of the pleasure-oriented, godless, affluent society that has forgotten its values.
That makes sense, thanks for adding this bit of history.
In Austria I`ve never heard of the "Weihnachtsmann" in my childhood, there existed only the Christkind! We wrote a letter to the Christkind with all our wishes a few days before Heiligen abend and laid it to the window and looked every day if he is away. Our parents took the letter in the night silent away and let a little bit Engelshaar (angels hair) on the window bank or on the floor by the window, so we thaught the Christkind got him and lost a curl!
Thanks for this very beautiful video. The vibes it created went straight to my heart.. ✨🌟🧡
I love hearing that. 💕🎄☃️🥰
Sankt Nikolaus is a big thing in the North too. But we have the Weihnachtsmann (Santa) on Christmas…. Which can be very confusing.
My husband and I are not religious and of course kids learn stuff outside the home too. So, our kids get presents from us on Christmas eve. Although we try to make it one big thing for all of us or both kids together, like my husband made a play table one year and the next we bought Quadro…..
On the 25th they get one personal present each from Santa, because they believe in him and on the 26th they get presents from other family members.
This way they do not get too much over all and not too much at once, so they don‘t get overwhelmed.
What wonderful memories you bring back of my Christmas’ in Germany 1956-57 & 62……I still have many of the Christmas decorations from that time…..
Funny enough a very protestant country is VERY big on Saint Nicholas. The Netherlands. Sinta Klaas is big there. BIG.
Today only a short comment, but coming out deep of my mind or my soul:
🎄🎄 F R O H E W E I H N A C H T E N 🎄🎄 M E R R Y C H R I S T M A S 🎄🎄 to the whole McFall family ! ! !
You can use one candle to light all the other candles 🤗🎄
About Santa and Christkind: Before the reformation St Nikolaus (December 6th) who also is the Saint for the children brought the gifts.
So St Nikolaus was THE day (still is in the Netherlands).
Martin Luther saw the tradition of having gifts on Nikolaus day as a part of the veneration of Saints, which he disapproved of.
Therefore he invented Christkind who brings the gifts on Holy Eve instead of the Nikolausday.
So originally Christkind was a Protestant tradition.
In the meantime we simply mix it and celebrate all of it, never mind the confession. Der Weihnachtsmann (Santa) became more popular due to american movies, I guess.
Advent is celebrated all over Germany.
7:00 I have to correct you: at least in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern we have BOTH: Weihnachtsmann AND Nikolaus!
Okay, here comes the true story of ALL nations: The whole Christmas story and a date of birth is just a invention ... everybody can create such stories, when he has power on people. The truth is: The time around nowadays christmas was the mothers night in the pre-religious tims. The old name is Mōdraniht.
The mothers night was dedicated to the 3 Eternals (3 goddesses). For example, the fairytale of mother Hulda is connected to them. The colors of them are white, red, black. It is not a coincidence, that the Coca-Cola-Santa has the same colors. So now you know: there was a time, when wimen where highly appreciated for their abilities of healing, giving, caring. The female trinity was worshipped before the catholic church and islam (both are the beginning of patriarchy) were invented to control and divide people. In European regions, their names where for example: Ambeth, Wilbeth, Borbeth. In the arabic (Islamic ruled) world: Manat, Uzza, Lat. Copy the name and find pics of them in Google search. Teach your children about them. Especially educate the girls. And show them, how brave the Iranian woman fight for freedom. We need to change the energy of humans with female energy. Worldwide! And this includes the men, too! Matriarchy is not about "women rule the world" Thank you!
Observing Advent Sundays (lighting the candles, reading specific scripture for that Sunday, special meal for dinner, using an Advent calendar) has been my normal protestant experience growing up in the largest city in Texas with German ancestry, so I would say those your explanation about these practices not being incorporated in the U.S, or being more catholic influenced are not necessarily true. I think you just did not necessarily have that experience. We replaced Santa with these Christmas traditions instead, and our community has done the same. I enjoyed the rest of the video - thanks for making these!
This whole thing about "Advent" isnt katholic really .. in fact the whole tradition with the "Adventskranz" it started in Hamburg - which is all but katholic by tradition and it was started by a guy named "Johann Hinrich Wichern" who was the founder of the "Raues Haus" - a (evangelisch ~ protestantic?) foster home for children. He made it with 4 large white candles for each sunday and little red candles for every workday
... And Croatia... I was sooo afraid of Krampus... Merry Christmas
Yes! We saw that there were some Krampusläufe in Croatia this year! Haha
You might be aware that Nikolaus (6th of December) has a horse. So: You can put a small plate (we use 1 from our coffe pot) with a biscuit beside the shoes and in the morning the biscuit is gone and only a few "Krümel" are left on the small plate. (biscuit was eaten by the horse) Very nice for everyone.
The Christkind was introduced by Luther in the attempt to eliminate the “cults” around saints. So the Christkind is a non-saint substitute for St. Nicholas rooted in Lutheran tradition. The result is now that we have the two, in our region Santiglaus (St. Nicholas) and Schmutzli (similar to Knecht Ruprecht) and the Christkind on Christmas. Also we need to make up stories to our kids on why Santa comes back on Christmas on a sleigh through the chimney, since this is what they see in movies, ads and stores. It can get pretty wild, but as long as they want to believe it seems they are open to a lot of consistency. Looks like no matter how hard you want to separate, culture merges eventually.
Who is St. Nicholas?
The true story of Santa Claus begins with Nicholas, who was born during the third century in the village of Patara in Asia Minor. At the time the area was Greek and is now on the southern coast of Turkey. His wealthy parents, who raised him to be a devout Christian, died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young. Obeying Jesus' words to "sell what you own and give the money to the poor," Nicholas used his whole inheritance to assist the needy, the sick, and the suffering. He dedicated his life to serving God and was made Bishop of Myra while still a young man. Bishop Nicholas became known throughout the land for his generosity to those in need, his love for children, and his concern for sailors and ships.
There is no need to be christian to celebrate Advent and xmas. It is simple a nice time for everyone who like it.
Absolutely 💕🎄
The Christkind is not a Jesuskind it`s more like an angels helping the Weihnachtsmann I learned. I was born and raised in Lower Saxony in a protestant family. On holy evening came the Chriskind sometimes with the help of the Weihnachtsmann. Today with my on family living in Berlin the Christkind is flying through the window and next day the Weihnachtsmann came but that´s my new tradition. The Christkind is very out in Berlin.
We always go to some Christmas-tree plantation here in our forest. There you can saw off the tree that you want and so you make sure that is it freshly-cut and has not been felled weeks before. It is immediately put into a bucket with water and has to wait there a couple of days before we take it in around the 23rd of December. And again the tree stand is a stoneware basin that is filled with water. It is only in early January that the tree "understands" that it is dead and stops sucking up water. We always see to it that is is a blue spruce. The needles are all aroud the twigs, they are hard and stingy, but they smell very strong and the twigs are very firm and stiff. Secondly the branches are not very close together and that is ideal when you have real candles as we do.
We twice took a museum steam train to Remscheid. There we went into such a plantage and saw our own x-mas tree. The trees were taken by bus to the steam train. And we travelled back with that train. The most difficult part later was the last mile to get our huge chrustmas tree home in the crowded S-Bahn. 😂
Let me whisper something into your ear: You sawed your tree, not saw it. Be sure, you are not the first one to be confused by "see- saw-seen" and "saw-sawed-sawn". I remember that someone in my class once wrote "I did not saw my sister." instead of "I did not see". @@maxmustermann3285
The colors of the traditional Catholic Advent wreath are 3 purple and 1 rose, the rose for the 3rd Sunday of Advent, for Gaudete Sunday, rejoice!
Maybe don't think about Knecht Ruprecht as evil - he's more the servant of the christkind and has to carry the sack wth the presents because that would be to big for a child. And he also has to carry out its will, the giving of the presents or the punishment of "evil children". He's like a proto Santa/ Weihnachtsmann.
Hello, very nice video about Christmas, well done! The Christmas tree was also beautifully decorated and the "real" candles reminded me of my childhood, which was several decades ago. What I was missing were the balls and the tinsel (lametta), which might have overloaded the tree.
Be carefully with the candles on the christmas tree. More than only one home burnt down because of this....
Es war so schön zu sehen, dass ihr echte Kerzen am Weihnachtsbaum hattet. Ich denke , die Stimmung ist eine ganz andere, als wenn man eine LED-Lichterkette hat. Ich hoffe ihr hattet schöne Weihnachten - so wie ich.
there is one thing that you havent discvered: THE german Christmas Film "Drei Haselnüsse für Aschenbrödel".Like "the wizard of oz" in the USA. Unfortunately its not available in english
Oh no, the best movie is "Weihnachten bei Hoppenstedts" - unbeatable.
Actually, both the adventskranz and the Christkind have protestant roots.
There is always something depressing about November and December with the short days and long, cold nights. But the candles and the joy of Christmas make up for it. And then the year is over and a new one begins.
When snow falls in February, the world is enchanted.
This was a great video! You are so talented and artistic!
Best wishes and Happy New Year from Canada 🍁 🇨🇦.
Thank you so much! 💕🎄