Here is the article I wrote for the December Wegweiser Newsletter:
If you were to ask most Germans about their Christmas traditions, they would tell you about live Christmas trees, Advent calendars, candles, baking special treats and gift giving. You probably noticed early in the Fall that grocery stores started displaying Christmas candies, cookies, and festively wrapped chocolates. Churches have been posting flyers about their special Christmas services. There is anticipation in the air! We are lucky to be in Germany during Christmastime.
Celebrating Christmas is an important family time for most here in Germany. One in four Germans will attend a church service, for many at midnight on Christmas Eve.
Germany celebrates Christmas with two public holidays, the 25th and 26th of December. For many people, Christmas Eve is divided into a hectic morning and a festive and sacred evening. When Christmas Eve falls on a workday, the shops are open until noon, and they are very busy as people buy their last presents or food for a traditional meal. Afterwards attention is turned to decorating the Christmas tree with lights and ornaments, wrapping gifts, and preparing food.
Christmas Eve is a holy time when family members gather. In the olden days, the period from Saint Martin’s Day on 11 November until 24 December was a time of fasting. That is why often a simple Christmas Eve dish is served. A popular meal throughout Germany is potato salad with Wurst. The evening meal is followed by the exchanging of gifts, singing, and making music together.
While the children wait outside the room, gifts are delivered by the Christkind (literally “Christ Child”), a beautiful fairy-like woman or man dressed in gold and white robes with a crown. This person represents the Christ Child. The children write letters to Christkind, asking for things they’d like for Christmas. Christkind leaves gifts under the tree and disappears before the children can catch a glimpse of him.
If you want to learn where the children send their Christkind letters, read this very fun article. (Last year, the post office in Engelskirchen personally answered almost 135,000 letters to Christkind from 48 countries.) Christkind is also the one who opens and welcomes everyone to the traditional Christkindmarkts.
[link to this article, make sure you have the English translation up]
https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/engelskirchen-christkindpostamt-100.html
On Christmas Day Germans enjoy a delicious feast around a beautifully decorated table. The traditional Christmas Day meal is roast goose with potato dumplings and red cabbage. The day is spent with family, eating and visiting while the children play with their new toys and games.
December 26 is Saint Stephen’s Day and is a public holiday in Germany. For many it is a quiet day spent with friends or extended family members, some take the opportunity to get out and enjoy the German countryside.
We hope you enjoy a wonderful and cultural Christmas here in Germany! May you feel the love of the Christ Child in all that you see and do!
–Sis Ann Lewis
Our Frankfurt Germany Mission 