Christmas in Germany

Hi my name is Lukas. I will tell you about Christmas in Germany.

St Nicholas Day

On the night of 6th of December Nicholas (der Nikolaus) visits boys and girls in Germany. If you want Nicholas to visit you, you must clean your boots or shoes and leave them beside your front door. I usually leave my boots because they are bigger than my shoes. He brings sweets and treats and small presents. If you have not been good or have not cleaned your boots you will not get a treat, and some people even get a small stick. Luckily this has never happened to me!

Christmas Trees

The tradition of Christmas trees started in Germany. In Germany you put your Christmas tree up a few days before Christmas and you usually put a crib underneath it too!

Advent

Advent is very important in Germany. Every Sunday in Advent a candle will be lit. This year the “4 Advent” ( that is what it is called) falls on Christmas Eve which is also the main day that we celebrate Christmas. Children have advent calendars, this is another German tradition.

Christmas Markets

We have lots of Christmas markets in Germany, they have existed there since the 1400’s. You can get lots of Christmassy things like nuts, arts, crafts and mulled wine.

1st Christmas and 2nd Christmas

In Germany we celebrate 1st Christmas Day (25th December) and 2nd Christmas Day (26th December). We usually visit family on these days. On Christmas Eve the Christkind brings all the presents.