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During the months of December and January, many decorate their outdoor trees with white lights.
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Christmas Markets
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A Visit to Germany's Christmas Markets
This is an article from “Spiegel.de” (a German news magazine) in English with lots of great tips for visiting German Christmas markets. Make sure to look at the photo gallery which shows many of the different markets.
Christmas in Germany - A mosaic of holiday pictures taken at Christmas markets in North Germany
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Pictures of the Christmas Market in Lübeck
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Lübeck is one of the most beautiful cities of Germany and is located in North Germany on the Baltic Sea. If you happen to be in the area in December, it is worth visiting the city and its Christmas market. This market can be found on the Breite Strasse as well as at the Kohlmarkt.
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Lübeck Christmas Market - December 2006
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Niederegger Marzipan Store in Lübeck
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While at the Lübeck Christmas market, it is a must to go to Niederegger. It can be found on the Breite Strasse. Niederegger is probably the most famous marzipan around. Even if you are not a fan of marzipan, it is worth walking through this store. It is beautifully decorated and offers so many gift ideas out of marzipan. A café is also available there where you can enjoy a cup of hot coffee, too.
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Niederegger Marzipan - Lübeck - December 2006
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Pictures of the Lübeck Christmas Market in December
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Other Popular German Christmas Markets
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One must see the variety of Christmas markets in Germany. Each major city has its own and they usually run for four weeks. These are quite commercialized but also have stands with handmade items as well. Glühwein or Mulled Wine is a traditional drink offered at all of the markets. This delicious spiced wine punch drink gets served hot. Perfect for a cold winter’s day when you are out doing holiday shopping and need to warm up.
Enter the world of Christmas markets and click on a link below. Each link is one of the 16 German states. The link will lead you to the page with that state and show the cities holding Christmas markets. Click on each city to find more pictures and details about its Christmas market. Nürnberg is probably the most famous Christmas market and can be found under Bayern (Bavaria)
Baden-Württemberg
Bayern (Bavaria)
Berlin
Brandenburg
Bremen
Hamburg
Hessen
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony)
Nordrhein-Westfalen
Rheinland-Pfalz
Saarland
Sachsen
Sachsen-Anhalt
Schleswig-Holstein
Thüringen
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Pictures of the Christmas Market in Hamburg
The city of Hamburg sets a perfect scenery for Christmas markets and one has a feeling that it is an ongoing market starting at the train station and ending at the Alster River.
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Small Town Christmas Markets in North Germany
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Small towns and villages normally have weekend markets which are quite charming. Our area of Germany is in the north in Schleswig-Holstein, which is the northernmost state of Germany and on the Danish border. A few large farms decorate their barns inside and out with their own Christmas markets. These last from 2 days up until 2 weeks. They are small yet charming and have a vintage feeling to them. Most charge a small entrance fee to cover the costs.At the small village markets and the farm markets, you will find lots of self made goodies, hand crafted items, and well selected country gifts.
The best time to go to any of these markets is at dusk. Most stay open until 6 or 7 p.m. and at that time in winter, it is already dark. The lit candles and the bonfires give the markets an added touch of warmth and comfort.
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German Christmas Carols
Many of the Christmas carols we sing in English have their origin in Germany. This is a collection of the most popular German Christmas songs in the German language as well as English language carols that have made their way to Germany and have become popular as well.
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Christmas market booth in Kiel selling Christmas ornaments and decorations.
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Learn how Christmas is celebrated in Germany
The Christmas season begins with the first advent Sunday. Traditional households have a advent wreath in the family room and the walls, doors and windows are tastefully decorated with handmade German Christmas crafts. The wreaths are decorated either modern, with trendy colored decorations, or in traditional colors with orange slices, cinnamon sticks, apple slices and pinecones. Each wreath holds four candles, representing each of the four advent Sundays before Christmas. With each new Sunday, another candle gets lit so that by the last Sunday before Christmas, all four candles are burning. The lighting of the advent candle is a special moment in the homes with children. The family spends a quiet moment together and sing carols and some read passages out of the bible.
On the 6th of December, the German version of Santa Claus visits the children. His name is Sankt Nikolaus. On the night of the 5th of December, the kids place their cleaned shoes outside the door. The next morning, the shoes are filled with goodies.
Assisting Sankt Nikolaus is Knecht Ruprecht. He is normally dressed in a brown robe and carrying rods in his belt to give the bad children and a basket on his back full of sacks of tangerines, peanuts, spiced cookies and chocolate to give to the good children. Theodor Storm (1817-1888) wrote a popular poem about Knecht Ruprecht which is learned still today by all of the children in school. Read the poem here >>> Knecht Ruprecht Poem
Often decorating the windows are these light bows. This one is a simple one but you can also buy intricately detailed light arches out of wood.
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Christmas Eve in Germany
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Traditionally on the 24th of December, on Christmas Eve, the father of the house solely decorates the tree in the morning and the room gets closed off so that the Christkind (translated: Christ Child but is an angelic figure) can bring the gifts in the afternoon while the family is at church services. The mother of the house spends the morning cooking a small dinner which is often a small meal like Bratwurst and Sauerkraut. She is also preparing for the Christmas dinner for Christmas day in advance. The kids get to see and open their gifts after the evening meal and when it is dark outdoors. This adds to the mood. The tree gets lit for the first time with real candles or with traditional white lights. The family sings Christmas carols together and reads passages from the bible.
Christmas day is family day. The family goes to church in the morning and comes home to eat their Christmas dinner. Often friends or relatives are invited to join them.
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The German Kitchen at Christmas
In German kitchens, lots and lots of goodies are being baked for the holidays! The most traditional of the baked goods is Lebkuchen. The taste can be compared to gingerbread but in its own unique way. Other wonderful tasty seasonal baked goods are Vanilla Scones or Vanille Kipferln, Christstollen, Linzer Sterne (by Schwarzwald-Tage.de), Marzipantorte, Rumkugeln, Dominosteine, Cinnamon Stars or Zimtsterne and so much more.
German Cookie Recipes
Here you will find some recipes for traditional German cookies.
A traditional Christmas dinner consists of a baked goose with potatoes and vegetables but different regions of Germany have developed their own specialties over the years. See here the recipe for German baked Weihnachtsgans or Christmas Goose and another favorite German special dinner Schweinebraten or Pork Roast with Sauce.
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Gingerbread House at the Christmas Market at Traventhal - December 2006
Pictures of the Traventhal Advent and Christmas Markt in Schleswig-Holstein from November 2007
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City Hall at Christmas time in Neumünster - December 2007
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Christmas Street Lights in Bad Segeberg 2007
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Christmas Market in Kiel, Germany
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