12 Days of Christmas Day 11: Cookies

Baking cookies is like the painting eggs of Christmas. It's tradition! In my family, we bake sugar cookies and decorate them with a homemade frosting and sprinkles. During my exchange year, I made cookies and iced them with a powdered sugar and lemon juice icing.  The sprinkles were large sugar crystals. Cookies come in all shapes, sizes and flavors. Whatever the kind, they seem to be an important part of the Christmas season.

Here in the US, we take that importance a little further. Before the children go to bed on December 24th, they leave out a platter of cookies and a glass of milk as a thank-you to Santa Claus (for a few years, my family even spread oatmeal out on the lawn for the reindeer). Santa doesn't always eat all the cookies - I mean, who could eat so many in one night?! - but he usually writes a little thank-you for the thought.


Bis morgen!

12 Days of Christmas Day 10: Santa

So, I totally intended to talk about Santa Claus and how he and der Weihnachtsmann compare and contrast. However, upon further research into the topic, I became confused. I guess that's what happens when your native traditions and customs are a hodge podge of those of other cultures. Let me try to explain.

In some parts of Germany, Sankt Nikolaus comes the night of December 5th to fill the shoes of children with small treats and gifts (as I mentioned in a previous post). In some traditions, the children can also leave a list for Sankt Nikolaus to pass on to the Weihnachtsmann, who delivers presents on the night of December 24th.

In the US, we mix those two traditions together. Santa Claus comes the night of December 24th to deliver presents, as well as fill shoes/stockings. Only some areas/families observe the St. Nick tradition.

Santa only comes to those who believe! So, don't stop believin'

!

For a more detailed and informative explanation, check out this site.

In either case, the gift-bringer who come on the 24th is a jolly old man with a long white beard and a red get-up. One rides a horse, while the other flies around in a sleigh pulled by magical reindeer. And both are certainly integral to modern celebrations of Christmas (at least as I know it).








Bis morgen!

12 Days of Christmas Day 2: Christmas Markets

No Christmas in Germany is complete without a visit to a Weihnachtsmarkt (unless, of course, you're a bit of Scrooge, then there's no helping you). As I mentioned in a previous post, I love going to them. During my stays in Germany, I visited the same ones multiple times per season. I've been to four different ones. So far, my favorite has been the one in Bremen. Since I've already talked a bit about Weihnachtsmärkte in another post, I'm just going to post some photos from the various markets I've been lucky enough to visit (specifically, from my visit to the one in Bremen last year).