By Traci Rhoades
As we approach a new year in Church liturgy, I’d like to invite those of you with a Dutch heritage to cross the North Sea with me, enjoying some history from The Netherlands’ eastern neighbors in Germany.
While a number of holiday traditions exist in every European country, offering rich foods and unique family observations (here’s looking at you, Sinterklaas, and wooden clogs filled with goodies on Dec. 6), Americans around the country, indeed all people around the world, enjoy several beloved Christian traditions which have their origin in Germany.
Briefly, here are twelve Advent and Christmas traditions credited to the country of poets and thinkers. Thank you, Germany, for ushering us into the holiday spirit year after year.
1. Advent Calendars
Let the countdown begin! For the four weeks leading up to Christmas, these calendars have tiny doors or windows, revealing a small gift each day. Originally, advent calendar windows were opened to reveal Christmas scenes.
2. Advent Wreath
It was the German Lutherans who first placed an Advent wreath on a table in the home. These wreaths of evergreen branches traditionally adorned with pinecones and berries, held four candles, sometimes adding a fifth one in the center to be lit on Christmas Eve.
3. Christmas Markets
The Christmas Market (or Weihnachtsmarkte) tradition dates back to the 15th century, and commonly feature a nativity scene, vendors offering baked goods and handcrafted items, and a number of onsite snacking options. The markets are decorated with holiday lights and seasonal decorations.
4. Christmas Pyramids
These unique wooden displays spin on a turntable powered by candles and a horizontal windmill. Early on, children would decorate the pyramids with various Bible scenes. Over time, nativity scenes became the prominent theme, occasionally incorporating winter themes as well.
5. Christmas Trees
Bringing evergreen trees, referred to as Tannenbaum, into the home as decoration dates back to Germany in the Middle Ages. It wasn’t until the mid-1800s that Prince Albert and his queen brought this tradition to Windsor Castle in England.
6. Decorating the Christmas Tree (ornaments and lights)
Protestant Reformer, Martin Luther, is credited with first putting lights on Christmas trees. A traditional tale has him walking in the woods at night, and noting the way the moon shined through the wintry woods, he wanted to recreate that sensation at home.
7. Krampusnacht
He’s not as well-known as these other German traditions, not necessarily a bad thing. Originating in pre-Christian, pagan societies, the horned creature Krampus is a devil-like figure known to walk the streets before the night before the Feast of St. Nicholas, scaring naughty children.
8. Candlelight Christmas Eve services
The first recorded candlelight service on record was in a Moravian church in Marienborn, Germany in 1747. Children were passed among the children, symbolizing Jesus Christ as light of the world. This element of the service was added to a tradition of a music-centered evening vespers service.
9. Christmas Carols
Two of our classic Christmas carols have German roots. “Stille Nacht” (Silent Night) was first written as a poem by a German pastor, Joseph Mohr, in 1816. Two years later, on Christmas Eve, it was set to music by his friend and a church organist, Franz Xaver Gruber. “O Tannenbaum,” which became a recognized Christmas carol over time, was a traditional folk song dating back to the 16th century.
10. Designer Gingerbread
Without the role of their Baker’s Guild in the production of gingerbread, we wouldn’t have gone into the elaborate designs now associated with the holiday season. In fact, gingerbread from Nuremberg is known as Lebkuchen,
and has a protected status (similar to Champagne or Parmigiana Reggiano).
11. Nutcrackers
German folklore offers us variations on their creation. One story has nutcrackers originally as good-luck charms given to families as protection for their homes. Another has them dating back to the late 1600s, as functional kitchen tools carved out of wood in the shape of soldiers and rulers as a great joke. Tchaikovsky’s famous ballet, The Nutcracker, helped a great deal with their universal appeal.
12. Jolly Old St Nick
When St. Nicholas appeared in the famous poem, “’Twas the Night Before Christmas” in 1823, the German illustrator, Thomas Nast, decided this Santa Claus needed a new look. From the 1860s on, he illustrated Santas for most of his career.
For more detail on these traditions online: discoverwalks.com/ blog/world/15-german-christmas-traditions-that-are-celebrated-by-germans-all-over-the-world-2/dustyoldthing.com/german-christmas-traditions/housebeautiful.com/uk/life style/a33969476/german-christ mas-traditions/germanfoods.org/german-food-facts/german-christmas-traditions/
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Traci Rhoades is an author and Bible teacher who lives with her husband and daughter in West Michigan.
As we approach a new year in Church liturgy, I’d like to invite those of you with a Dutch heritage to cross the North Sea with me, enjoying some history from The Netherlands’ eastern neighbors in Germany.
While a number of holiday traditions exist in every European country, offering rich foods and unique family observations (here’s looking at you, Sinterklaas, and wooden clogs filled with goodies on Dec. 6), Americans around the country, indeed all people around the world, enjoy several beloved Christian traditions which have their origin in Germany.
Briefly, here are twelve Advent and Christmas traditions credited to the country of poets and thinkers. Thank you, Germany, for ushering us into the holiday spirit year after year.
1. Advent Calendars
Let the countdown begin! For the four weeks leading up to Christmas, these calendars have tiny doors or windows, revealing a small gift each day. Originally, advent calendar windows were opened to reveal Christmas scenes.
2. Advent Wreath
It was the German Lutherans who first placed an Advent wreath on a table in the home. These wreaths of evergreen branches traditionally adorned with pinecones and berries, held four candles, sometimes adding a fifth one in the center to be lit on Christmas Eve.
3. Christmas Markets
The Christmas Market (or Weihnachtsmarkte) tradition dates back to the 15th century, and commonly feature a nativity scene, vendors offering baked goods and handcrafted items, and a number of onsite snacking options. The markets are decorated with holiday lights and seasonal decorations.
4. Christmas Pyramids
These unique wooden displays spin on a turntable powered by candles and a horizontal windmill. Early on, children would decorate the pyramids with various Bible scenes. Over time, nativity scenes became the prominent theme, occasionally incorporating winter themes as well.
5. Christmas Trees
Bringing evergreen trees, referred to as Tannenbaum, into the home as decoration dates back to Germany in the Middle Ages. It wasn’t until the mid-1800s that Prince Albert and his queen brought this tradition to Windsor Castle in England.
6. Decorating the Christmas Tree (ornaments and lights)
Protestant Reformer, Martin Luther, is credited with first putting lights on Christmas trees. A traditional tale has him walking in the woods at night, and noting the way the moon shined through the wintry woods, he wanted to recreate that sensation at home.
7. Krampusnacht
He’s not as well-known as these other German traditions, not necessarily a bad thing. Originating in pre-Christian, pagan societies, the horned creature Krampus is a devil-like figure known to walk the streets before the night before the Feast of St. Nicholas, scaring naughty children.
8. Candlelight Christmas Eve services
The first recorded candlelight service on record was in a Moravian church in Marienborn, Germany in 1747. Children were passed among the children, symbolizing Jesus Christ as light of the world. This element of the service was added to a tradition of a music-centered evening vespers service.
9. Christmas Carols
Two of our classic Christmas carols have German roots. “Stille Nacht” (Silent Night) was first written as a poem by a German pastor, Joseph Mohr, in 1816. Two years later, on Christmas Eve, it was set to music by his friend and a church organist, Franz Xaver Gruber. “O Tannenbaum,” which became a recognized Christmas carol over time, was a traditional folk song dating back to the 16th century.
10. Designer Gingerbread
Without the role of their Baker’s Guild in the production of gingerbread, we wouldn’t have gone into the elaborate designs now associated with the holiday season. In fact, gingerbread from Nuremberg is known as Lebkuchen,
and has a protected status (similar to Champagne or Parmigiana Reggiano).
11. Nutcrackers
German folklore offers us variations on their creation. One story has nutcrackers originally as good-luck charms given to families as protection for their homes. Another has them dating back to the late 1600s, as functional kitchen tools carved out of wood in the shape of soldiers and rulers as a great joke. Tchaikovsky’s famous ballet, The Nutcracker, helped a great deal with their universal appeal.
12. Jolly Old St Nick
When St. Nicholas appeared in the famous poem, “’Twas the Night Before Christmas” in 1823, the German illustrator, Thomas Nast, decided this Santa Claus needed a new look. From the 1860s on, he illustrated Santas for most of his career.
For more detail on these traditions online: discoverwalks.com/ blog/world/15-german-christmas-traditions-that-are-celebrated-by-germans-all-over-the-world-2/dustyoldthing.com/german-christmas-traditions/housebeautiful.com/uk/life style/a33969476/german-christ mas-traditions/germanfoods.org/german-food-facts/german-christmas-traditions/
—————
Traci Rhoades is an author and Bible teacher who lives with her husband and daughter in West Michigan.
