5 Things You THOUGHT Were German but Actually AREN’T! | Feli from Germany

[@FelifromGermany]

What other things do people believe to be typical for a country, but they're not even from that country? 😅 Let me know in the comments below!

[@kiwiDenglish]

Singapore Noodles. It’s a Cantonese dish that originated in Hong Kong, yet it's called Singapore noodles.

[@therandomname69420]

I'm dying, people think the chicken dance is a traditional German dance? 😂 Do they also think that the Macarena is a traditional Spanish dance? haha

[@dm33enjoyer]

french fries. they are from belgium

[@christophermatthews6972]

I lived for my first 30 years in England. I never saw an English muffin until I moved across the Atlantic. We have crumpets which are vaguely similar but taste and feel different.

[@matthewmorrisdon5491]

Scotch comes from Northern Ireland.

[@miaks1988]

I‘m swiss and I got asked about „The Sound Of Music“ more times than I can count! First time I heard about it I had no idea what it was, and people were confused since they firmly believed it must be a traditional swiss childrens movie. When I finally watched it and did some research, I found out it is a american Broadway musical turned Hollywood movie with a story set in Salzburg, Austria. I cannot explain HOW on earth every single american I meet is convinced it is swiss 🤣

[@michael-1680]

Because many Americans associate mountains with Switzerland, I think. We also make the same connection to the book & movie, "Heidi".

[@nancywillaert5129]

@@michael-1680 there’s a place in Germany you can cross the border with Switzerland by foot we almost did with or dogs on a hike lol, but also Austria. We travel a lot to Germany and when hiking up the woods we use google maps and orientation and see okay that mountain is Austria, there’s Switserland and these are Germany. It’s fun. Bodensee and you have it in view. We turn of our roaming to manual otherwise before we know we get a big phone bill 😂.

[@mjolner42]

The only association that film has with Switzerland is that's where the Von Trapps escaped to at the end of the film (but not in real life). But I don't think I'd even ask an Austrian about it, the same way I wouldn't ask a random Australian about what they think about Crocodile Dundee.

[@fabianhebestreit3240]

@@mjolner42 But Crocodile Dundee actually is an Australian movie.

[@angela_tarantulas]

I‘m Swiss too, but I never heard about this 🙈😄

[@timmmahhhh]

The origin of German Chocolate Cake is hilarious! I always scratched my head and said there's no way this is German with the coconut. Thanks for the great explanation.

[@sluggo206]

We could call it Hawaiian Chocolate Cake or Thai Chocolate Cake. :)

[@timmmahhhh]

@@sluggo206 those names make a lot more sense!

[@Wildcard71]

Chocolate with coconut? Sounds like a "Banjo" bar!

[@tcphll]

It's interesting to me that the coconut is the part that makes it seem "not German" when chocolate is no more indigenous to Germany (or Europe in general) than coconut. In fact, if you look at where cacao is grown and where coconuts are grown, it's pretty much the same places, none of which are near Germany. Just shows you how ubiquitous chocolate is globally rather than being associated to the regions that grow it. I guess it's kind of similar to coffee or tea in that regard.

[@timmmahhhh]

@@tcphll true though the Swiss in particular are known for their chocolate making/processing, but yes not growing.

[@PESHajnal30]

Didn't expect the complete history of the chicken dance, but here we are.

[@D3nn1s]

And i expected a clip of it, because as a german ive never seen it

[@PESHajnal30]

@@D3nn1s tbh that's crazy, I am german myself and do know the chicken dance. But I don't think I have really seen it in the last ~15 years or so. Maybe the reason is I am not a child anymore since ~15 years :D

[@Lumbeseckel-Oo]

I know it as a classic tune for german carnival (Fastnacht/Fasching) in my childhood days, back in the 80s/90s.

[@AlexanderGoeres]

an information overflow regarding ententanz

[@Winona493]

​@@PESHajnal30This MIGHT be the reason!!!😂 If you are a German. In the US it seems to be a little different. 😊

[@patricknelson5151]

My wife is Malaysian Chinese and we lived in Malaysia for nearly seven years in the early years of our marriage. Now we live in California and we have found that in nearly every Malaysian restaurant we have ever encountered, they proudly serves a dish they call Mango Chicken. I have no idea where this dish originated from but I never seen it (or anything like it) anywhere in Malaysia. It seems to be a completely American invention. They also serve desserts here that are vaguely like authentic Malaysian desserts but then add chocolate or some other American ingredients that would never be seen in Malaysia.

[@marietgagliardi]

I'm from California and never even seen a Malaysian restaurant 😂

[@kenshinjenna]

I wouldn't trust any American Asian restaurant at all.

[@QueenRaven911]

As a child, I also naively thought Shanghai noodles have something to do with Shanghai, nope. My grandmother, who was actually from Shanghai, said she never heard of such a thing. The 7 year old me thought perhaps my grandmother didn't know better. Then I realised the deception....

[@samanthac.349]

I’ve been told that all dishes in most “Asian” restaurants in America are purely American inventions. I did have real Chinese dumplings from an Asian market here that actually serves the Asian community, and I was surprised that they’re bland compared to the “Asian” restaurant versions that I’ve previously tried. Although, one Japanese-American classmate did admit to me that despite it really being an American invention that she did like orange chicken, too.

[@Motacilla191]

3:10 Seeing Helga Feddersen referred to as “another German artist” is tough. Young people like Feli have probably never heard of her, but she was a well-known and very popular comedienne.

[@FelifromGermany]

I don't know if you noticed but I didn't give any background information on any of the bands and artists. It would have taken wayyyy to long to go into detail about every single one of the artists and songs 😅

[@JoSheeply]

"Die Wanne ist voll uh uh uh ..." 😊 She was a congenial comedy partner of Diddi Hallervorden. Unfortunately, she fell ill with cancer early in her life and died at early age after a long suffering. That's probably why she's almost forgotten today.

[@TheNinnyfee]

Yes, Helga was really amazing. ❤

[@KlausBeckEwerhardy]

She so was. 'The Man that I Want' to 'Die Wanne ist voll'. Northern humor at its finest.

[@miklosernoehazy8678]

...the Christmas Pickle... ...my dad was from Hungary; spent a few years in Munich, and when asked about the Christmas Pickle he said it was a traditon that originated in Poland amongst ethnic Germans, sometimes in the mid-1800's...

[@koobs4549]

Really? I was pretty certain that it was invented by the folks at Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland in Frankenmuth, MI 😂

[@WooShell]

I know several people who have started doing the Pickle thing now that the meme is getting more popular.. so it might actually end up becoming a tradition, given enough time.

[@red.maned.unicorn]

My family has German ancestry on both sides (plus ancestry from like half of Europe overall lol) and we had a pickle ornament, but we just did it because of a children’s picture book called “Pickle Things.” The book started with “Pickle things you’ll never see, like pickles on a Christmas tree” and went on to list many other silly places you _won’t_ see pickles. (I also recall “a pickle nose, and pickle toes.”) So when we saw a pickle ornament in a shop, we thought it was hilarious to prove the book wrong! Didn’t hide it, didn’t have a reward for finding it, just saw it and laughed 😂

[@MaraMara89]

I am Polish and never hears of that. But now I want pickle ornament :) it would be easy to spot on my tree though, because the tree is white ;) or maybe it would get lost as most of my ornaments are green and ocean blue

[@alandahlstrom7213]

@@MaraMara89 would love to see a picture. It sounds beautiful.

[@songtraveler]

Then there's Häagen-Dazs ice cream, assumed by many to be from Europe, but was in fact invented in New York in 1960.

[@timmooney7528]

It's one of those made up names, like how Orville Redenbacher created the term "gourmet" popping corn. The term allowed him to charge more for the the hybrid of corn he used.

[@thorstenjaspert9394]

This ice-cream is blocked frozen. German and Italian ice-cream is much softer and more delicious.

[@HalfEye79]

@@timmooney7528 Some metal-bands put an umlaut in their band-names just to look mor edgy or so. (i.e. "Motörhead")

[@Winona493]

Interesting. I as well thought it might be Swedish or Danish. Now I know better. Thank you. Jaja, man lernt nie aus!😂

[@michael-1680]

Yes, the name was deliberately invented to sound "Danish", but it's actually not even a real word in Danish, just a meaningless set of sounds.

[@hiredgun7186]

first generation Canadian here, my family hails from SE Germany in Singen, I have never heard of a Christmas pickle , and my grandparents kept a lot of the German tradition, far as German chocolate cake, never had that when I was in Germany, had Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte many times, but theres 0 coconut or pecan in that

[@ЦзинКэ-ы5х]

WE WUZ DEUTSCHE UND SCHEISSE

[@johannesschon7111]

You forgot the „Spundekäs“ eaten in Rheinhessen wich is usually always eaten with Brezel. Sometimes also with the small ones.

[@keineahnung5466]

Exactly, and in the Odenwald there is cooked cheese (Kochkäse), which is even closer to the one shown here. Ultimately, all methods of making cheese liquid. But you eat it with bread and meat.

[@luisalarose]

I‘m German and I thought the Christmas pickle was an American thing 😂

[@claudiafesch-jv8wt]

I thought it is an English Tradition.

[@Name-ki1xi]

same😂

[@amandabeaty1492]

What's a Christmas pickle?

[@Nicole-gs5qc]

​@@amandabeaty1492 its a smal cucumer in the christmas tree. But you see it not at the first moment You must search it. I see it in germanys christmas markt. But its not german.

[@calvinthurston1441]

​@@amandabeaty1492it's what I give my wife on Christmas!

[@justynazujko7892]

Every time i hear the chicken dance the first thing that comes to my mind is ,,kaczuchy" which is a Polish children song about ducks who have little beaks, tails, legs and like water.

[@deutscher1a]

Sounds like "alle meine entchen"(all my ducklings) but in polish

[@Thefutureis96]

I find the videi extremely disappointing!

[@justynazujko7892]

@@Thefutureis96 no one forces you to watch it, get out!

[@Tinkerkel]

Yeah, we actually have a yodeling pickle on our tree. It's motion activated. Thank you, Grandma For this very loud addition to christmas.

[@markdodel1706]

I gave my daughter one of these last year. She lives in Germany and she gave it to her German boyfriend who thought it was hilarious and showed it to all his friends who also thought it was hilarious.

[@neonsparxx]

@@markdodel1706That is hilarious! 🤣

[@WideCuriosity]

Until you have to put up with it for days.

[@l.a.3680]

As a german, this just makes me angry. I know its a small thing and i should not get angry about something like that, but that there are so many people out there who think we would put a pickle on a tree for whatever reason - its just so stupid. I mean - cheese to Brezeln - it makes sense to think that. A stupid dance - there are lots of stupid traditional dances in southern germany, its not that far from the truth. But a pickle on a tree on christmas? Thats as if i were telling people its an american tradition to shove someone a cheeseburger up its butt when he/she turns 21 or something like that.

[@Sgray-ep7se]

As a German in Germany, I've never heard that things like "Christmas Pickles", "German Chocolate Cakes" or a cheese dip for pretzels exist... And my only encounter with the Chicken Dance was in primary school. I learned a lot in this video!

[@larryprice5658]

The pretzel portion reminds me of videos that show what is being sold as American food in Europe that Americans never eat such as hotdogs sold in a glass jar, or creamed corn poured over a pizza.

[@bobo2186]

I grew up in MN/WI. We never assume anyone eats cheese like we do!

[@sonkeschluter3654]

Do you consider the Swiss and Netherlands as rivals or brothers?

[@bobo2186]

@@sonkeschluter3654 I would say brothers, you have better taste in cheese! We just eat a lot more of it...

[@thomaslehrer4210]

One of the most famous chocolate cake is the Sachertorte, but originates in Vienna. Very delicious!

[@LunaticDesire]

Though we don't really eat it ;) Most of us have family recipes but it's not a popular cake. Also if you ever come to Vienna don't eat the the one from the Hotel Sacher, it's overrated. Try any other cafe or bakery that has good ratings.

[@thomaslehrer4210]

@@LunaticDesire Sorry, but I cannot admit. I know a lot of different Sachertorte, but the original is the best, by far. The cake itself is NOT dry as a lot others and the glaze is delicious. The best I know. But I admit, that it is over-priced.

[@kathilisi3019]

​@@thomaslehrer4210 Hotel Sacher makes their cakes drier and the glaze harder than the actual original recipe on purpose, to extend the shelf life. Café Demel in Vienna sells the original recipe Sachertorte.

[@mr.donatello]

I had obazda when I was in Germany last year and loved it. Had it for breakfast whenever it was available.

[@bbjd9328]

Christmas Pickle -- this is what I heard. Bronner's Christmas Store in Frankenmuth, Michigan sells lots of Christmas ornaments and some years ago, like in the 1970"s had made the pickle as part of a larger set of a decoration package. However, people began to request a new pickle so as to not break up the set because they would accidently throw it out with their dead tree or forget to remove it from their artificial tree and it got broken. So Bronner's began to advertise in their catalog the Christmas Pickle as "fun activity for the kids" so the pickle became a game. Also, think of the names in involved: Bronner's (German) Frankenmuth (means Franconian Courage--a political division/state in Germany) Pickle (well, Germans pickle everything!). The rest is good ol' American marketing!

[@AlexeiTolpygo]

One of the most embarrassing things I always hear from people when they learn that I'm originally from Russia (I live more than 31 years in another country) is that in Russia we say "na zdorovye" when we make a toast. I'm sorry, but it's just nonsense, we NEVER say that in this situation. This frase does exist though, but it's a polite answer to someone who thanks you for offering some food or drink, and ONLY in this case! To make a toast it's possible to say "ZA tvoyò/nashe/vashe zdorovye" (for your/our health), but it's considered quite banal/lack of creativity. 🤦 Traditionally we mention some event we make a toast for, like "let's drink for finally getting together today/your successful exam/getting the job done, etc, etc, etc... So please, don't say "na zdorovye" ever again when you drink with Russians! 🤣✌️

[@jamesf931]

My favorite version of the “Chicken Dance/Der Ententanz” is the doorbell of the German in the TV show, The IT Crowd. Season 2, Episode 3, Moss and the German. I WANT this doorbell!

[@michaelbcohen]

In a way many food ones like the Pretzel ones are essentially German (in New York, it is served with Mustard, which was an actual German Jewish thing), because it was German Immigrants who created these things as a way of combining all the different regional foods as one cuisine when they all lived in the same neighborhoods when they came here between 1848 and 1935 What you mentioned about Braunschweig, an American Sociologist who in 1935 published about the Nazi's rise to power, said that from 1933 interviews he did, that there everyone was Braun or schweig when it came to the Nazis. But Hitler was Ethnic German from the border region, in a country with at the time a high rate of German identifiers. But with the foods, many foods from many cultures came to their own in the US, because immigrants from all regions of a country would come here, blend cuisines mixed with local ingredients. I am Jewish, but while bagels are a Jewish food from Eastern Europe over 500 years old, cream cheese is an American invention for example. Or Beef Pastrami is a Jewish food (Pastrama that it is based on, it pork or goose) from Hungary and Romania, but the Rye used in classical NY Delis is a Jewish style Rye from Poland, using "deli mustard" which is Jewish from Germany" for example, as everyone blended their cuisines into one in the local neighborhoods

[@garanor1]

Well, actually all Austrians always identified themselves as ethnic Germans, not only those from the border region ... until 1945, when some miracle turned them all into ethnic Austrians, that never had anything to do with Germany or the Nazis ;-)

[@rjsieder]

Well researched, as always. I had no idea about the German Chocolate Cake's history. I'm glad Black Forest Cake, at least, is German (and delicious)!

[@Marco_Onyxheart]

The Black Forest Cake has sometimes been said, though, to be a lie.

[@Tokru86]

@@Marco_Onyxheart Well, I like eating lies then.

[@trackstick]

@Feli The only officially authorised dip for pretzels in Bavaria is „sweet mustard“ by Händlmeyer, Baumann or maybe Develey. 😊

[@RickProsser-p9d]

Growing up in the midwest in the 60s/70s/80s, my German speaking grandparents and their relatives played the chicken/duck dance at every wedding or community dance there was. I had never heard of the Christmas pickle thing until about 6 years ago when we hosted a German exchange student from Stuttgart. She started the tradition for our family.

[@Gearhart_Music]

Where I live, there's a German restuaraunt and pub that serves pretzels with mustard. It's one of the few places around here that I can get a liter of Bitbürger.

[@tiberius8390]

Fun fact. Bitbruger is from Bitburg, which is on the very west side of Germany. Also I believe it's Pilsener beer, which is bitter. In West Germany they don't serve beer in 1 liter sizes, and definitely not Pilsener. I would even be surprised if you get 0.5l beer in Bitburg. Usually it's 0.33liters, which is also the size of 1 bottle (usually). 1 liter Maß and generally "Halbe" (0.5 liter) is a Bavarian thing and the Bavarian "standard" beer is lager beer to large extend, which is not (that) bitter but more sweet.

[@uztre6789]

@@tiberius8390 Pils beer is popular all over Germany and half liter glasses are as well, even though other sizes might be more associated with a certain place or region (like the small ones in Köln or the Maß in Bavaria)

[@desperadox7565]

Bitburger

[@gubsak55]

​@tiberius8390 true. I live 30 km from Bitburg, where the brewery is located and 25 km from where some of the hops are grown (next to Irrel). In Bitburg and Trier and everywhere around this area at restaurants, the bear is served in 33 cl or 40 cl glasses. The Bitburg bottles contains 33 cl or 50 cl (1/2 litre), but only the 33 cl or 30 cl versions are served in restaurants. The slogan "Bitte ein Bit" of course refers to the polite asking "Bitte" "Please". They are the Official Sponsor for the European Football Championship.

[@jrgptr935]

​@@tiberius8390At least in my childhood, beer was mostly available in litre bottles, including Pils(ner) of course, and most people took 2 or 3 bottles to work. Transl DeepL

[@greengummibear]

The German wife HATES when I hear the Chicken Dance and say "your national dance!" I'm usually in trouble for awhile, but worth it…

[@FelifromGermany]

Oh boy 😂

[@neonsparxx]

I would rage if someone said that to me! 😅

[@LouisChang-le7xo]

...

[@avi.chan23]

he woke up and chose war :D

[@vladd896]

Funny enough how being from Ukraine I was only exposed to Russian version of that song and was convinced it was a Soviet song 😅 (actually plagiarized like many stuff back then)

[@garyh7949]

The Christmas pickle is a new one to me. And I grew up surrounded by ancestral German relatives, including my parents and grandparents.

[@r.c.brousseau9655]

Hi Feli, I’m from Canada and I really enjoy your channel, which I always find to be informative and very well presented. Keep up the good work!

[@y6cd3sdzHs1g]

I find these videos particularly fascinating because her description of "America" is a very regional perspective that's unlike much of the rest of America. This stuff about Pretzels with Cheese Dip, the German Chocolate Cake and Christmas Pickle, I've never heard of those things either and I've lived in the US all my life. I was in Meijers (a grocery store) in Cincinnati recently, and going "WTH is this?" through the deli, through the bakery, etc.

[@paulxy952]

As a german I plead to take over the tradition of dipping prezels into cheese from america that sounds awesome I realy always missed something👍🇩🇪🇺🇸

[@freakishuproar1168]

I had no idea that The Tweets "Birdie Song" was just one iteration of a European craze. Those synths in the old school duck dance tracks, absolutely majestic stuff... :p

[@maralisil]

The Chicken Dance is huge at Musikest in Allentown/Bethlehem Pennsylvania! My hubby introduced me!

[@ruthp2545]

I noticed that about thirty years ago, the Christmas market started producing vegetable and fruit Xmas ornaments that sold in places like Bronners (a huge Christmas store) in Frankenmuth, MI...a 'Little Bavaria' resort town. I remember pickle ornaments being a big novelty from that...perhaps that contributed to this association of pickles and Germany. I never saw any pickle ornaments anywhere before that.

[@TLowGrrreen]

It was a rehash of a fad that had popped up briefly in the 60s and 70s. My family has glass pickle and chili pepper ornaments older than I am. I'm 51.😊

[@Firespark7]

People think Darth Vader's name is German: "'Vader' means 'father' in German," but actually: 1) That's not why he's called Darth Vader. 'Vader' comes from 'invader', 'Sidious' comes from 'insidious'. 2) 'Vader' is not the German word for 'father', but the Dutch word for it. The German word for 'father' is 'Vater'.

[@CornedBee]

"Pitch Perfect" perpetrated this bit of nonsense. It wouldn't even make sense, because when Vader was named, he wasn't actually meant to be Luke's father. This bit was invented after the original movie was completed.

[@ThindiGee]

I didn't know that so many versions of Ententanz existed but I remember hearing and dancing to it during Fasching (carneval)

[@lulus8122]

Same. I was a scout and we had Fasching there every year, too with the „gib mir bitte einen Kuss“ version 😆

[@irenakozmos7373]

I just love how well prepared you are for every video, that's so very german of you! Greetings from Slovenia!

[@RPSchonherr]

Those PA Dutch changed everything

[@stevemyers8330]

😆

[@maralisil]

​@@stevemyers8330"Vye Sure!"

[@silversleeper1193]

I went to school in the US from 10-13, and a history teacher there tried to tell me my last name wasn’t German, but Pennsylvania Dutch. I had literally moved there from Munich, I think I knew my own heritage 😂

[@Raider_MXD]

In Germany the Ententanz (Chicken Dance) is a thing at Fastnacht / Fasching / Karneval (carnival) events. When I lived in the US a co-worker presented German chocolate cake to me at the office which confused me quite a bit 😁

[@tru3sk1ll]

+1 Love your Picard avatar !

[@w8stral]

That German Chocolate cake may have been Prussian which today is actually Poland. Millions from this region moved in 19th century. There is a reason WWi/WWII and Germany were actually about FOOD-->importing ~30% of it at the time, and Prussia was utterly destroyed, broken up, and depopulated by and large by both wars. My own family(moms side) was from this region who moved here in 1880's and what often is called "German" dish here in USA is closer to a Polish equivalent dish than anything else.

[@CaptHollister]

It was not named for Germany, it was name for Samuel German who was an American chocolate maker. Thank you Max Miller and Tasting History. Edit: I should have watched the whole video before replying

[@SheratanLP]

Aber weniger als Ententanz, sondern eher in der Frank Zander Version.

[@Raider_MXD]

@@SheratanLP Meiner Erfahrung nach ist das etwa gleich verteilt, aber das mag sich von Region zu Region unterscheiden.

[@juliaclaire42]

Helga Feddersen shozkd also be named and not just called 'another artist'. She was the first real comedienne and died far too early! Check out her art!

[@joergn.1800]

Helga Feddersen und Didi Hallervorden ❤️

[@Wildcard71]

@@joergn.1800 You, the bathtub is full.

[@joergn.1800]

@@Wildcard71 😁👌

[@JoSheeply]

@@Wildcard71 "I stimm you zu" - UH UH UH 😁

[@Geeeee61]

My friend from Hessen introduced me to the Christmas pickle. I’m from Niedersachsen and didn’t know about it, but apparently her family always had one. We’re both 40 now, I learned about it in my mid 20s

[@urbanslamal4900]

I really love how well your videos are based on great research! Very nicely done!

[@redhawk87p]

There are several in the U.S.: mochi icecream (created by a Japanese-American in Texas I believe), teriyaki sauce (from Washington state), American sushi like the California roll, Mexican coke (it is no longer 100% cane sugar and is only a marketing ploy), and many others

[@disappointmentslough]

I recently learned that orange chicken was invented by Panda Express in Hawaii. It was a variation of General Tso's chicken, which also is not from China. Two chefs claim to have invented General Tso's, but both say that they did so in New York City.

[@patricknelson5151]

@@disappointmentslough In case you haven’t heard of it, there is a great book about the origins of American Chinese food (with a long section on General Tsao’s chicken) by Jennifer 8 Lee (her real name) called “The Fortune Cookie Chronicles.” It was originally published in 2009. Highly recommended. Like Feli does here, she breaks down a lot of myths about “Chinese Food”, including the origin of the fortune cookie (which Felli mentioned in the video).

[@disappointmentslough]

@@patricknelson5151 I actually just ordered that book! She's one of my favorite journalists, I'm excited to read her book.

[@Quark0611]

2:25 Nailed it! De Vogeltjesdans. Das V wird in NL wie ein W in Deutsch ausgesprochen.

[@Amv110]

The cheese. Never touched. Mom taught me that dip does the dish no justice. She had habits from her new Yorker Ashkenazi food ideas. Spaetzel, pretzels with salt, blinzses ( typo) and jarlsburg. She ate no other cheese munster and Swiss being the secondary so my food choices were started on my mom's polish Russian ancestral influences and we ate. A lot of challah. I did anyway. But yes, cheese dip is like goyim food for those who have not eaten matzoh before. A second childhood favorite. And rye. Lots of rye bread. So yes, thank you for this! As well as the Duck dance. It had more influence in our small town by the 90s. Took a long time to find a home.

[@jamespence9469]

The first time I came across the "Chicken Dance"" was when I was stationed In Germany (Kitzingen, FRG) between 1983 and 1985. Many of the principal officers in our battalion were invited to a Fasching dance and party held by our panzergrenadier Partnerschaft unit in the Regensburg area. It was a way the local unit thanked the local folks for their support. All of us linguistically impaired Amis were paired with good English speaking locals at our tables. When a certain dance started, all the locals latched on to one of the befuddled American soldiers or their spouses and drug us to the dance floor to be introduced to the "Chicken Dance". I have to admit it was a wonderful ice breaker and set the tone for the rest of the night. As an olde pharte now, I can only assume that what may have been common in Bavaria before the fall of the Berlin Wall may have gone out of style before the younger generation came along.

[@JoSheeply]

I'm bavarian by birth 😁 and can assure you that i never danced the "chicken dance" or "Ententanz" as we call it after the age of 10. I'm born 1975. I only know it as children's dance, I did not recocnize it here in Germany for many years now. Since the mid 80s, I've only noticed it in American movies, series and when brought up on KZbin. Maybe your Panzergrenadier comrades had fun making the Amis look a bit silly. But you all apparently had a lot of fun and that's what counts. Especially on Fasching.

[@jamesshearer9616]

Pretzels and soft pretzels are ubiquitous in the Pennsylvania German Lancaster County PA. Not sure, but I believe the mustard addition came from 70 miles away in Philadelphia, where they squeeze the soft pretzels together into a rectangle and sell like 5 of them in a strip on street carts.

[@Kim-427]

I never thought that was German. I thought that was our American love for cheese and dipping things. Lol

[@waltSperling]

My wife just brought me sift pretzels from Sturgis. Delicious. They did not have the long ones. I miss those. When I was young we could get them off of street vendors in Pittsburgh.

[@waltSperling]

Soft..sorry

[@Kim-427]

@@waltSperling Hey,I’m from Pittsburgh.

[@AndrewAMartin]

Nothing like the added 'spice' of exhaust fumes in your Philly street vendor pretzels... When my dad worked in Philly, he'd get a case of soft pretzels directly from the makers and we'd put them in the freezer. We'd pop them in the microwave for an afternoon snack with a little mustard on them..

[@fraupolster]

The „cheese“ sauce is some disgusting chemistry experiment that shouldn’t be called food. From Augsburg and I like a Butter Bretze. ❤

[@holdermeddk]

You couldn't go anywhere in the very early 80's without hearing that piece of music. I mostly remember the one with little angels. I'm from Denmark

[@ralphsnow2337]

I was in the US army stationed in eschborn just outside of frankfurt in 1976-1980. Some of the street food vendors that sold pretzels had a spicy mustard available they would put on your pretzel if you wanted it.

[@lijntje266]

when you said german cake i tought of Schwarzwalder Kirsch ( or black forest cake) that does seem to be german :P

[@rabitec.]

I thought they maybe meant Sachertorte

[@keineahnung5466]

But this is a cream cake with a black shortcrust pastry and chocolate flakes on top. And most importantly, of course, the Black Forest kirsch, i.e. high-proof alcohol.

[@evahofmeister8708]

Google for the recipe 😊

[@vclamp]

Beer cheese soup is a must try! You are welcome.😊

[@Alias_Anybody]

Someone in some comment section I've read claimed the "Christmas pickle" once was a small local tradition somewhere in western central Germany, I think the Pallatinate or something. Even if that's true, calling it a "German" tradition would still be like saying that Mardi Gras is one of THE US holidays, a big stretch.

[@ronosborne6855]

The only time I ever have done the chicken dance was at a wedding in Michigan. I would never have guessed its presentation in America would have been in Tulsa which is about 40 miles south of my hometown of Bartlesville.

[@stephengamber6233]

Love how it became the "Chicken Dance" in the U.S. because the Tulsa band couldn't find Duck suits!

[@davidc.4957]

Danke. This will take days before "de vogeltjesdans" (I appreciate the try to speak Dutch) is out of my head.

[@SK-2503]

I am from Salzburg/Austria (not so far from Munich) - and YES pretzels are often served together with mustard - especially the white munich saussage is eaten typically together with pretzels and sweet mustard (but only before noon)

[@GrizzAxxemann]

My Opa taught me pretzel with mustard, but that's because we had to sop up the extra mustard from the pile of sausages he served up for lunch on Saturday afternoons. Usually a mix of Wienerwurst, Knackwurst, Bratwurst and others. There was a a dish of Obazda, but I wasn't fond of it as a kid.

[@guy642002]

We made spundekäse for an Oktoberfest party and it was a total hit here

[@neonsparxx]

*Spundekäs'

[@emily_gross1990]

The Chicken Dance was VERY popular at wedding in the 1990s. They even had unofficially official lyrics, "I don't wanna be a chicken, I don't wanna be a duck, so I shake my butt". But it's most known for being a polka song which is synonymous with German/Polish culture. Bavarian style pretzels are pretty common. Especially in Frankenmuth Michigan, where you can even sign up to watch and help create them. Every time we visit the city we have to get one and we do get ours with the cheese as it makes it even more yummy. I love how Bavarian style is like a cross between a pretzel and a bagel. Frankenmuth is also the chicken city, as it has 2 world famous chicken restaurants. So that doesn't help anything.

[@andyh1213]

I had never heard of the Christmas pickle until one of your videos, but I have one on my tree now. My kids love it :)

[@mascami]

Me too!!

[@thebunnydiaries]

Ohh the chicken dance was a staple of school discos in the 80’s/90’s in the UK

[@s.a.4358]

In Belgium too! We even made a rude (for children) version of it 😄

[@MP-cr7uf]

Just visited Munich and anytime I ordered a pretzel it did not come with anything, but when it was offered as part of a breakfast buffet it was next to various meats, sliced cheeses, and mustards.

[@christianjensen6425]

A danish pastry, especially a cheese danish, is not Danish, ie from Denmark at all, here we know the sweet jam filled version as wienerbrød, which translates to bread from Vienna, the Austrian capital. In the 18hundreds the was a bakers strike in Denmark, so bakers from Vienna was brought in to bake bread, and they brought the butter layered pastry with them. And after the strike was over the pastry had grown so popular, that the Danish bakers continued baking them. But a wienerbrød is only sweet in Denmark, a more savory cheese filled version doesn’t exist, it’s an entirely US invention, as we all know the US is in love with everything to do with melted cheese :-)

[@tedgovostis7351]

Vogeltjes uses the diminutive ending of bird, so closer to chick dance than bird dance. I was surprised by the cake thing, because when I hear german chocolate cake I immediately picture Black Forest Cake and didn't realise it was a separate thing.

[@SantiagoLopez-fq4eb]

Also in Spain a version was released by "María Jesús y su acordeón" called "El baile de los pajaritos", that is "The little birds dance". It's very very popular and in fact many people think that the song is actually hers.

[@AndyMalish]

Back in the 80's in the town of West, Tx October was when they had the West Fest. We used to do the chicken dance about every fourth or fifth song during the street dance. The City of West, Tx is in the Czech belt. Back in the days of steam trains it was known as West Station and basically a place to stop and replenish water in the boiler. I haven't been through there in a long time but I don't think the population has changed much, it's probably still in the neighborhood of about a couple hundred people. Great place to stop and get some kolache. It's on I35 just north of Waco.

[@ChrisMedley]

Good ol' Halls on the River. Greetings from Lex!

[@johnwood551]

Like being told when I was in Belgium that steak tartare was “was what ALL Americans eat”, and never have seen anyone eat that .

[@s.a.4358]

Haha true!! Steak tartare and “americain” are still slightly different though.

[@royblack2395]

Lived in Belgium too. They call it "Filet Americain".

[@LouisChang-le7xo]

no, we eat chemical saturated processed meat and get diabetes afterwards

[@K__a__M__I]

If you eat enough German's Chocolate Cake throughout the year you'll shurely have some Christmaspickel come christmas time.

[@miseentrope]

Feli consistently provides history, education, and entertainment. Absolutely one of my favorite channels. 🥰

[@wendyhubbard3109]

The chicken dance was popular on roller skate during public session skating back in the 80s.

[@Zongooo]

I love the way Feli says the word "costume." Cute.

[@charlybravo1354]

The Chicken Dance was actually quite popular regionally in Germany. As "Enten-Tanz" (Duck Dance) for Carnival, especially for children carnival.

[@youngson6005]

2 weeks in Germany and the chicken dance and mustard with pretzel were everywhere.

[@Mike-wr7om]

You do great historical research. I learned a lot from this video. The history of the "German Chocolate Cake" was especially interesting.

[@jonathanpicket124]

When I lived in Friedberg, really close to Frankfurt, my friends and I would go to the local Brauhouse fairly often. We would always get a pretzel, which would come with garlic sauce for dipping. It was such a great combo, but I've never seen it in the US, and any time I ask anyone from Germany about the garlic sauce, they have no idea what I'm talking about. I used to think I was a traditional German thing, but I guess nobody eats pretzels with garlic sauce. 😭😭

[@pdubb9754]

Perhaps the pretzel and mustard combo may have emerged from the Pennsylvania Dutch? It was certainly common where I grew up (a locale with Pennsylvania Dutch roots)

[@indeedgrasshopper]

Some of my earliest music memories involve a 45 of De Electronica's De Vogeltjesdans (with Marching Tin Soldier on the B side). Oddly enough, my mom got it while we lived in Germany so that would have been ~1982. That album cover is an INSTANT nostalgia slap. 😄

[@craigkdillon]

Your extensive research on silly topics is awesome.

[@AmonRa-z8w]

I never thought that the "Dance of little Ducklings" has such roots, it always seemed to me that this is a Russian dance, we danced it at a summer camp

[@PhlogPhanatic]

I saw Christmas pickle ornaments being sold in the Spreewald around the Sorbian villages and when I asked my Wife's uncle who had lived there for 40 years and he said "this is tourist rubbish for Americans". I thought it was just one of those things that was like a regional tradition which for the Spreewald would make sense given thats the pickle place in Germany, but I was wrong.

[@MiaGwen]

Greek yogurt is not actually Greek. It has Turkish origins and yogurt was made by the Turkish part of the Ottoman Empire

[@therandomname69420]

It hs both Turkish and Greek origins.

[@MiaGwen]

@@therandomname69420 yes but the name yogurt is Turkish

[@therandomname69420]

​@@MiaGwen correct

[@jrgptr935]

Meinst Du Zaziki? Karl May erzählt in "Durch die Wüste", wie Kara ben Nemsi in Mesopotamien ein Gericht bekommt, das der Beschreibung nach etwas derartiges sein könnte; wenn ich mich recht erinnere, spricht May von geronnener Milch. Do you mean tzatziki? In "Durch die Wüste" - "Through the Desert" -, Karl May tells how Kara ben Nemsi is given a dish in Mesopotamia which, according to the description, could be something like that; if I remember correctly, May talks about curdled milk.

[@keineahnung5466]

Greek and Turkish culture is ultimately the same. They were only separated by the end of the Ottoman Empire and the mutual displacement of many people. The Greek cuisine we know today comes from the Turkish mainland; on the Greek islands there was and is much more food from the sea because pastureland is scarce. Yoghurt comes from Asia, of course, and was brought to Europe by the Mongols, who remained in Europe as Turkic peoples.

[@FreezyAbitKT7A]

There are lots of pickle shaped gifts however. Bagels are from Poland, Croissants are from Vienna Austria, Beer is from Mesopotamia, American Goulash is Chili Mac and has no paprika in it .(culture appropriated ) Hungary should be insulted. Call it Borscht instead

[@sasasaunteredvaguelydownwa9047]

I'm sorry, American Goulash is W H A T ? Oh no, I regret googling pictures of that. It really is macaroni chili :I

[@SonGoku-tz9vt]

Croissants are French, not Austrian

[@xiaolan1369]

​@@SonGoku-tz9vt Croissants did, in fact, originate in Vienna. The origin of the croissant can be traced back to a pastry called 'Kipferl,' which was known in Vienna as early as the 13th century. The Kipferl came to France in the 18th century through Marie Antoinette. French bakers adapted the Kipferl and further developed it into the croissant we know today

[@Lysandra-8]

​@@xiaolan1369correct, that's what i heard too

[@FreezyAbitKT7A]

@@sasasaunteredvaguelydownwa9047 Told You

[@davedavids57]

Well the Austrian's will tell you he was a nice painter until he moved to Munich :p . Technically by illegally joining the Bavarian Army in 1914 he committed treason against the Austrian State. This wasn't really realised as he wasn't important until the putsch. An arrest warrant was issued and that's why he renounced his Austrian citizenship. It doesn't appear that at any point between 1914 and 1938 that he actually visited Austria. With the Austrian government declaring the Nazi party illegal terrorist group in 1934.

[@hanneweber4246]

My granddaughter told me about the Christmas pickle. I grew up in Germany in the 50's. I had never heard of this tradition.

[@jeffm9770]

My German-American grandmother gave us a pickle ornament. I think she was 2nd generation, as her mother's father immigrated from Germany sometime before 1900.

[@Christian-yf8zy]

Obazda cheese dip is often made with beer. Greetings from Bamberg, Bavaria

[@Thomas_Schwarzenbacher]

A couple of years ago our oldest got a pickle from McDonald's and since then we've known about that tradition and he likes it so much that it is now integrated in out tree decoration ;=)

[@jamesbechtel7736]

I remember reading an article when I was in college about how Pho in the US is different than the Pho back in vietnam. The reason is that most of the vietnamese folks who live in the US are expats from south vietnam who fled the country when the US backed regiem fell back in the 70s. The Pho you get here is essentially a snap shot of south vietnamese food culture circa the 60s and 70s thats been forever frozen in time. Its flavors are pretty different compared to whats going on in modern day vietnam.

[@dpsonnenberg4537]

Thank you for the video. I can't wait for the next show.

[@heikozysk233]

My family comes from several very different parts of Germany and never in my whole life have I seen a Christmas pickle or heard anyone talking about the pickle tradition. Some people like to decorate their trees not only with traditional ornaments but also look for some wacky or unusual ornaments. I could very well be that the very small percentage of people in Germany who claim to follow the "pickle tradition" just had someone in their family getting one of those during the last decades. Maybe the merchant also told them the "story" behind the pickle so they started that "tradition" also in their families. Anyway, it's a pretty cute custom and I can imagine that smaller kids love the pickle hunt on Christmas Eve.

[@rsheaney]

We (Americans) tend to serve Caesar Salad with our version of Italian food, and it is actually created by Cesare Cardini for his restaurant Caesar's, which was in a hotel by the same name in Tijuana Mexico.

[@Teeleesom5]

I got to say, the pretzel with cheese I think got started in American malls. Because I remember that's where we used to get it all the time when I was younger. But as far as mustard with pretzels I actually got started eating that when I lived in Germany in the Hunsruck. So that might have been a localized thing.

[@Anne-qk3ch]

I actually got that Epika adapter for my Germany trip earlier this year. It comes in pink! Worked great.

[@flowingafterglow629]

I don't even know if I've had a pretzel in Germany. When I think pretzels, I think more about the pretzel carts at the train stations in Zurich. The pretzel sandwiches there were like cheese and salami, something like that. Really good.

[@metalheadmetalhead4976]

No Christmas pickles, but an old family tradition is putting a sausage on the top of the tree. And Santa has never come to me. It was the manic mechanic who came with presents in a shopping cart thrown by a horde of christmas-squirrels. Read in the new book "German Christmas like it has never been", written by Pinocchio von Münchhausen ... 😇

[@theowaigel8588]

Hi there, one thing I love about your channel is the research you quite obviously do. I am 100% German lived in Germany almost all my life, have a load of academic credentials to my name including a doctorate in law, but still you come up with information I was not aware of. I knew that Hitler was from Austria and fought on the Bavarian side in WW 1, that's fairly common knowledge over here ,what I did not know was that it took him so long to gain German citizenship. Always a pleasure to watch your channel. One thing particularly moving is the fact that you pronounce every German word really well "German". I am fairly fluent in UK English but everytime German expressions are thrown into the conversation I tend to use the English pronunciation it sounds like London East End to go with the flow I guess. Feli please just carry on.

[@JeffKantin]

Growing up in Wisconsin, the pretzels were usually just served as a hot pretzel...I'm not sure when the mustard and cheese stuff started. But the cheese makes sense around here since we are Wisconsin :)

[@1zaj34]

Dear Feli, please consider not endorsing this type of travel adapter. It is a dangerous contraption. The most significant problem (among others) is, that it will accept grounded devices while not providing a ground connection on the power side. In case of a faulty device, this can lead to full 110V (or even 220V in europe) on the outside of the device while circumventing the safety or the RCD. Yes, they are eqipped with their own 10A safety, but this is to protect the wall outlet and not the user.

[@birdgirl2623]

I lived in Germany in the mid-1960s when my military father was stationed in Baumholder. At the time, we did have some German Christmas tree ornaments shaped like pickles. But then again, we had German ornaments shaped like mushrooms and pinecones and I think maybe a few fruit shaped ones. However, I don't remember anyone --German or otherwise--telling us that the pickle was anything other than a novelty ornament. What I DO remember was that some German friends of ours had Christmas trees with lit candles on them--REAL burning candles on a LIVE Christmas tree. I seem to remember a bucket or container of water nearby, but I'm not sure if in case of fire, or to water the tree so the needles didn't dry out. They DID put out he candles before going to bed, but I remember being just in awe because it was such a beautiful tree with plenty of other decorations (but I don't recall if they had a pickle).

[@ytgray]

Yep, back when I was a kid our Christmas tree also had candles. Beeswax candles (they smell so good). And it also looks so cozy. It's quite obvious that we had other trees then compared to now. You would not be able to put real candles on the type of tree we have nowadays. Well, at least not more than about three at the top branches. Yes, the bucket was in case of the tree catching fire. Though I somewhat doubt it would help a lot, have you ever seen a dry fir going up in flames? It takes just a couple of seconds for the whole thing to be ablaze. I have to say that the electric version, even though the light is simply not the same, is so much better for staying calm :)

[@mr88cet]

Great topic and video, thanks, Feli! Regarding “German Chocolate Cake, I believe “German” is the Spanish-language spelling of the name “Herman.” When I think of German chocolate cakes, the first that immediately crosses my mind is Black Forest cake. Awesome!