Advent

St. Nikolaus Day

Christkind

Three Days of Christmas

Nutcrackers Erzgebirge Treasures

Three Kings Day 

My Christmas Photo Gallery

My Outdoor Displays

Christmas Project Page

     Christmas is Christmas anywhere in the world; the celebration of Jesus’ birth. But how we celebrate this magnificent event in history varies from country to country and even from family to family. What makes Christmas in Germany different than Christmas in America? That’s what I’ll try to show you in these Christmas pages. Since I grew up in America but live in Germany now, I can only compare Christmas in these two places, both of which I call my home.

     My first Christmas in Germany was spent in Herrenberg in 1988. Those first impressions of Christmas paved the road to my German Christmas journey of 17 years now. The first  impression it made on me was one of purity. I suddenly found myself in a place that seems to honor simple things. When I saw a nostalgic St. Nikolaus walking through cobblestone streets giving out apples and gingerbread to appreciative children, I asked myself, “Would children in America be satisfied and say thank you to Santa if he gave them an apple?”. I felt I was reliving a Christmas in Ebeneezer Scrooge’s time as I looked around at the crooked fachwerk houses lining the marktplatz.  An evening spent here on this same marketplace with Manfred on a Christmas Eve, when suddenly three trumpet players stepped out onto the onion-domed church’s balcony and played “Silent Night” filling the night air with their angelic music, was one I’ll always remember.  We both stood there looking up at them as if time had stood still, a silent tear forming in Manfred’s eye. Holding on to his hand, I stared in the direction of the hypnotic melodies filling the market square, watching my own breath in the cool air as I blew out a sigh of pure contentment. You could hear a pin drop.

     I’ll never forget this simple, Christmas Eve in Herrenberg and this moment. I felt that Christmas is a silent moment, time to reflect on Christ’s birth and to celebrate it. Sometimes we get so caught up in the traditions that we forget the main event. But this moment on Herrenberg’s marketplace one evening gave me this age-old feeling called the Christmas spirit, but one that is holy and quiet which you feel in your soul. Here, I think I encountered the real meaning of Christmas.

Christmas in Germany has so many facets. I broke it down into categories in the left column. I hope you enjoy reading my impressions of Christmas in Germany and hope it gives you insight into life here. Any comments are welcome.