Fwd: [Culturechat] Christmas present from Gigli

[Kraut907@aol.com]

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Return-path: <Kraut907@aol.com>
From: Kraut907@aol.com
Full-name: Kraut907
Message-ID: <192.60f378.295d54c4@aol.com>
Date: Thu, 27 Dec 2001 23:53:24 EST
Subject: Re: [Culturechat] Christmas present from Gigli
To: gigli.saw@dplanet.ch
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X-Mailer: AOL 7.0 for Windows US sub 118

Thanks for the beautiful pictures and the "Christmas at the Greuterts" story. 
My Heartland vacation would not have been half as great without Berit and 
Albert.
As to Christmas in Germany: I haven't been there for Christmas in ages, but 
this much I know from my readings:
Christmas customs differ somewhat between Protestant and Catholic regions. 
Protestants (in the north, east, and center) have the Weihnachtsmann coming 
on Christmas Eve. He is clad in red and looks like Santa Claus. The children 
may see him in person, or else he is in the other room, and kids have to 
recite a poem or sing a song for him and answer the obligatory questions out 
their behavior during the year. If the answers  are satisfactory, the door 
opens (Santa is gone), and the kids see the tree for the first time, and open 
the presents.
In Catholic regions, the Christkind leaves presents on Christmas morning. I 
should say on the first Christmas day, because there are two Christmas days, 
as there are two Easter and Pentecost days. 
The centerpiece of the Christmas feast is the roast goose, served with potato 
dumplings , ed cabbage and other side dishes. A traditional pastry is the 
Christmas stollen, a sort of coffee cake, often filled with almonds and 
raisins. Marzipan and cookies are also there in abundance.
There is another fellow  of importance : Saint Nikolaus , who shows up on 
December 6, his name day.He leaves sweets on window sills and other places, 
and he does this also for little Protestants. 
Another custom is the advent wreath, made of greens and adorned with four red 
candles. The first candle is lit on the first Advent Sunday, the second on 
the next, etc. Christmas comes after all four candles are lit. Children may 
also have an advent calendar (also known in the US), with one window to be 
opened every day in December. The best picture, mostly showing the holy child 
in the manger, is preserved for Christmas Eve.But what child hasn't peeked in 
advance, or even opened all the pictures at once?
When I was a kid, we used to make most of the gifts for the family 
ourselves,via k knitting, crocheting, etc. I am sure that has changed, but I 
notice, that many Christmas cards I receive from the old country are 
handmade, which adds a very personal touch to the greetings.
On Christmas Eve, the churches are very crowded, because all the , as I have  
heard them called, "U-Boat Christians" show up: they surface only on high 
holidays.....



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