Holidays & customs

24 entries

ChristmasWeihnachten24. bis 26. Dezember

The celebration falls on the evening of 24 December, not the morning of the 25th - the Bescherung is the heart of it.

More ›

24 December is called Heiligabend and is officially not a public holiday, yet in practice it is the most important evening of the year: shops close at midday and the Bescherung, the giving of presents, takes place that evening. Only the 25th and 26th are statutory holidays, the first and second days of Christmas. Who brings the presents varies by region: the Christkind in the Catholic south and west, the Weihnachtsmann in the Protestant north and east. On Christmas Eve the meal is often deliberately plain, classically sausages with potato salad, while the elaborate meal with goose or roast falls on the 25th. Two phrases matter for learners: “Frohe Weihnachten” as a greeting and “Guten Rutsch” as a farewell before the turn of the year, literally a good slide into the new one.

What to know

Presents on the evening of 24 December - Bescherung am Abend des 24. Dezember
Christkind in the south, Weihnachtsmann in the north - Christkind im Süden, Weihnachtsmann im Norden
Christmas Eve often plain: sausages with potato salad - Heiligabend oft schlicht: Würstchen mit Kartoffelsalat
“Guten Rutsch” is the farewell before the turn of the year - „Guten Rutsch“ ist der Abschied vor dem Jahreswechsel

Hallmark

Merry Christmas and a good slide into the new year!

Frohe Weihnachten und einen guten Rutsch ins neue Jahr!

Wikipedia ↗▶ YouTube search ↗

The Christmas marketDer Weihnachtsmarktvier Adventswochen

Stalls, mulled wine and a deposit on the mug: the market that shapes the four weeks before Christmas.

More ›

Christmas markets have existed since the late Middle Ages; the Dresden Striezelmarkt has been held since 1434 and the Nuremberg Christkindlesmarkt is the best known. They open at the end of November and mostly close shortly before Christmas Eve. The routine is the same everywhere and is therefore a good first occasion to speak: you order a Glühwein, pay the price plus a deposit for the mug, and get the deposit back when you return it - or keep the mug as a souvenir, which is explicitly allowed. Alongside there are Bratwurst, roasted almonds, Lebkuchen and potato fritters. If you would rather not drink alcohol, you order Kinderpunsch. The regional names are worth knowing: Christkindlmarkt in Bavaria, Striezelmarkt in Dresden, Weihnachtsmarkt almost everywhere else.

What to know

The Dresden Striezelmarkt since 1434 - Dresdner Striezelmarkt seit 1434
A deposit on the mulled wine mug - or keep it as a souvenir - Pfand auf der Glühweintasse - oder als Andenken behalten
Kinderpunsch as the non-alcoholic alternative - Kinderpunsch als alkoholfreie Alternative
Christkindlmarkt, Striezelmarkt, Weihnachtsmarkt by region - Christkindlmarkt, Striezelmarkt, Weihnachtsmarkt je nach Region

Hallmark

One mulled wine, please - with or without the deposit?

Einen Glühwein bitte - mit oder ohne Pfand?

Wikipedia ↗▶ YouTube search ↗

Advent and Saint NicholasAdvent und Nikolausvier Sonntage, dazu der 6. Dezember

Four candles on the wreath, one little door a day - and on 6 December something is waiting in the polished shoe.

More ›

Advent covers the four Sundays before Christmas. On the Advent wreath one more candle is lit each of those Sundays, so that on the fourth all four are burning; the wreath in this form goes back to the Hamburg educator Johann Hinrich Wichern, who introduced it in 1839 for the children of his Rauhes Haus. The Advent calendar accompanies the period from 1 to 24 December with one little door a day. On 6 December comes the Nikolaus: children put a polished shoe or boot outside the door the evening before and find nuts, tangerines and chocolate in it in the morning. Important for understanding: the Nikolaus is not the Weihnachtsmann and arrives eighteen days earlier. His companion Knecht Ruprecht is the stern counter-figure who comes along in some regions.

What to know

Four Sundays, four candles on the Advent wreath - Vier Sonntage, vier Kerzen auf dem Adventskranz
The wreath goes back to Johann Hinrich Wichern (1839) - Der Kranz geht auf Johann Hinrich Wichern (1839) zurück
Advent calendar: one little door from 1 to 24 December - Adventskalender: ein Türchen vom 1. bis zum 24. Dezember
Nikolaus on 6 December - not the Weihnachtsmann - Nikolaus am 6. Dezember - nicht der Weihnachtsmann

Hallmark

Put your shoes out, Saint Nicholas comes tomorrow.

Stell die Schuhe raus, morgen kommt der Nikolaus.

Wikipedia ↗▶ YouTube search ↗

Pro

Showing a free sample

3 of 24 entries in this category are free to read. Subscribe to unlock the other 21.

The Culture reference is part of the subscription. Unlock what a German speaker assumes you know: the profiles, the origin of the lines everyone quotes, and the customs nobody explains any more.

See plans →