GERMANY vs USA Christmas Traditions! 🎅 | We wish the USA did these!

[@jewel79]

My German family also decorates the Christmas tree on December 24th but we don't get rid of it on January 6th already. I remember it always standing all January. On February 2nd is the "Mariä Lichtmess" holiday which is the actual day when Christmas time ends so it would be totally ok to keep the tree until that day. Last year I actually did exact that and it felt great to have the tree that long. 🎄 I think we will handle it the same this year.

[@claudiakarl7888]

It was the correct date until the 1960s and the second Vatican Concil. Nowadays (for Catholics at least) ends with Baptism of Christ, which is the Sunday after Epiphany (Holy Three Kings). But for many Germans the tree ist up until it’s picked up by the trash company 😉

[@OurStorytoTell]

This is that first time we have heard about keeping the tree that long. How cool! 😊

[@CHarlotte-ro4yi]

We also like to keep the Christmas tree up for a good part of January. In fact my mom just complained that the rubbish collector's last date of collecting Christmas trees is January 18th and not any later :D

[@eljanrimsa5843]

Growing up in a Bavarian village one of my fondest memories is staying up real late and celebrating Mitternachtsmette, where the whole village would go to church at midnight.

[@TobisGolfBlog]

Like many others already wrote one of the biggest traditions in Germany in Christmas Eve is to have potato salad with Wieners/Frankfurters to keep it simple. There’s also a difference in where you live. At some places the Weihnachtsmann (very close to Santa) comes on Christmas Eve and especially in the south of Germany the Christkind comes. Besides goose a lot of people have Rouladen on the first day of Christmas. That’s like a beef meat roll filled with bacon, pickles, onions and mustard. Rouladen are traditionally served with red cabbage and potatoes or Klöße. The sauce that comes with it will probably one of the best you will ever taste.

[@michaelgrabner8977]

A typical - homemade - Christmas treat is "Bratapfel" = A "Boskoop" Apple carved out and then filled with a nut-filling which is a paste out of either sweetened ground almonds or ground walnuts seasoned with cinnemon as main ingrediant and various other added stuff ....might be marzipan, or just honey or ginger ..just different christmas spices ..the amount of different variations for the nutty filling is simply huge....the filled apple got then glazed with liquid butter and baken in the oven for 20 minutes...then served with a hot Vanilla sauce. Our Christmas dinner was always either Christmas carp or Christmas pike ="a Christmas fish dinner" because we had always way enough goose "till one drops" at the time around "St Martin" in November

[@OurStorytoTell]

We love you hear the traditions you have/had! Thanks for sharing. We hadn't heard of the Bratapfel, so we'll have to look it up and maybe try it one year:)

[@badfactor83]

THERE ARE DIFFERENT FIILINGS

[@sisuguillam5109]

Bratapfel rules!

[@j.a.1721]

I made Bratapfel this christmas too, with spekulatius cookies and chocolate chips inside and with ice cream, delicious!

[@HH-hd7nd]

The meals on the holidays actually differ by family. Some people love to make fancy meals (goose is a very typical one), others like to keep it simple and eat stuff like potato salad and sausages or hot dogs. A lot of people also like to eat fondue or raclette. Who brings the gifts depends on where you live in Germany. In the south it's the Christkind, while here in the North it's the Weihnachtsmann (basically Santa Claus).

[@danilopapais1464]

I think Germany still has the bigger meals at Christmas, or as we called "Erster Weihnachtstag" (first day of Christmas), that's why a lot of households are having Wieners/Frankfurter with potato salad on Christmas Eve or other things equally less big than the "Weihnchtsbraten" or "Weihnachtsgans", which would most of the time served after Christmas Eve..

[@martinohnenamen6147]

Agree, i think the majority still has the bigger meal on the 25th and only a smaller one on the eve of the 24th. Partly because the 24th is often still a half working day for people. We also have some sausage dinner on the 24th and Duck or Goose on the 25th (and 26th with the leftover :) )

[@kenardturner7173]

We do a large Christmas meal with ham, potatoes, sweet potatoes (yams) salad, cake or pies and cookies. Much of the Midwestern United States down to Central Texas is of German/Scandinavian heritage. Much of customs and traditions are still celebrated many generations later.

[@prometheus4993]

some ours before, me and my step daughter and her 5 jear young daughter had a wonderful traditioal meal with Sauerkraut, Würstchen (little sausage) and special like swedish sauce and tomato .. from IKEA with 32 wursts and 32 buns and 3 types of spices and soon ...)

[@christiankastorf1427]

Very often smaller children are far too excited to enjoy a four-course-meal that needs hours of preparation in the kitchen. And there is the fact that the 24th is half a workday like Saturdays used to be with shops and offices closing at about lunchtime, the 24th often has the side-effect of being a too stressful day for many families to spend a lot of time cooking. We sometimes had things like smoked salmon on toast or other goodies that do not need lots of preparation on "Heiligabend" when the next day would be the big family gathering with us going to our grandparents' place where my aunts and uncles would come too, or they all came to us to have roast duck, venison, or the like. Another dish that we sometimes had with all the family at our home was "Grünkohl", kale, with all the things that go with it: small smoked salami-like sausages, smoked chops and smoked pork cheek plus roast potatoes.

[@HH-hd7nd]

That solely depends on each family. Some people prefer to have the fancy meal on Christmas Eve, some prefer to have it in Christmas day and some people (like my family) don't make a fuss about the meals at all.

[@BigEd64]

Our favorite Christmas cookies was "Spritzgebäck" with a dough without eggs, only sugar, butter, flour, almonds and a little vanillasugar. And you had to peel the almonds by hand ( Pout hot water over the almonds and wait 5 minutes bevor peeling them). With pre grinded almonds the dough was too dry, so you have to do all the work. After a couple of days rest, you can use a "Fleischwolf" to press the dough in special forms. And put dark chocolate on parts of it. The big advantage was the dough without eggs, so you dont have to worry your cookies will go bad. If you make enough. We prepared cookies from about 2kg of flour which is a lot.

[@OurStorytoTell]

Wow those sound tasty! It’s fun to hear about your favorite cookie & the memories! Thanks for sharing. 😊

[@christiankastorf1427]

@@OurStorytoTell What you need for cookies/biscuits of that kind is the good old meat grinder with its auger inside and a number of changeable discs at the outlet. You can slide in various profiles and when you turn the crank the dough is pressed out endlessly and cut in length or twisted and bent into various forms.

[@MichaEl-rh1kv]

Actually Saint Nicholas was bishop in Myra in Asia Minor. The town is now named Demre and situated in southwestern Turkey. He was orignally buried at the small island of Gemiler Adasi ("island of boats", refering to his role as patron of seafarers), but brought back to Myra in the mid-600s, as Arab fleets began to dominate this part of the Mediterranean sea. In 1071 the Byzantine Empire lost control over most fo Asia Minor to invading Seljuk Turks, and Myra became subject of the Turks. In the spring of 1087 Italian sailors from Bari in Apulia seized and plundered the burial church in Myra to bring the relics of Saint Nicholas home to Bari. They justified this robbery with the schism between the Catholics in the West and the Greek Orthodox Church as well as with the protection of the relics againt Muslim Turks.

[@sodapop83]

yepp, been there

[@beatrixpastoors1104]

Sehr gute Zusammenfassung! You only forgot to mention the little bell that rings after the Christkind has come and brought the presents which the children will then find under the tree. And the tradition of the Krippenschau: often families go for a walk and visit several churches on one afternoon in order to see all the different nativity scenes built up there. And the days around the Dreikönigstag there is the fundraising campaign by the Sternsinger. Children of the parish disguised as the 3 holy kings and always 3 of them accompanied by an adult go from door to door and bring the benediction to the house and collect money for developing countries and also sweets for themselves and sing a special song. I hope they will also come to you and write 20*C*M*B*21 on your door frame.

[@herzschlagerhoht5637]

Merry Christmas to our favourite American family in Germany!!!!

[@annabelv.2400]

Here in Belgium, we typically put our Christmas tree the day of St Nicholas, so on the 6th of December or around there. Main celebration is on the 24th on Christmas Eve, where we usually have a late family meal and unwrap the gifts that are under the tree at midnight. The traditionnal meal includes some fish/shellfish as first course (salmon or oysters or lobster), Stuffed turkey or goose as main course and the dessert has to be a "buche" which is a cake or icecream shaped as a log with christmas decorations on it. On Christmas morning on the 25 we have for breakfeast what we call "Cougnou" (pronounced "Koonew"), which is a brioche type bread with pearl sugar, chocolate bits or raisins and has the ovreall shape of a newborn "baby Jesus", traditionnally eaten with hot chocolate milk.

[@ginafromcologne9281]

That was lovely and so nice how Willa enjoys the advent calendar! I had one with tea too and I'm still drinking it. But among all the Christmas traditions you covered, you forgot the Sternsinger on Epiphany. ;)

[@jjivy6310]

I'm in central Texas with heavy German heritage. Christmas Eve was always church and my Grandmother's house. Seems I now have explanation for some of the things we did! Our church does Advent candles , so I'm familiar with that and my son's German club sold chocolate filled Advent calendars. Love all the things you found in Germany! Puts a lot more meaning into Christmas! Have a blessed New Year!

[@OurStorytoTell]

It really has made Christmas more special. How fun you have memories doing a few German Christmas traditions as well! 😊

[@dairuna]

The tradition in my childhood home was Potato Salad, which is served cold, but has a near equal amount of sausage in it, served with warm Wiener sausages. It involves a lot of preparation. If you want to know the recipe, just shout! 😊 (I never understood why people said that Kartoffelsalat was the easy way out - making it takes a lot longer than shoving a roast into the oven! 😅) In our own household with children we mostly had Raclette on Christmas Eve. Everyone can participate, eat what they like and it doesn't take a lot of preparation. Plus the family sits together for a longer time, which was a good "trick" for us as the kids got into their teens and felt restless at the table. Raclette or Fondue was something they always happily sat down for. 🥰

[@OurStorytoTell]

Love the different traditions people have. We had no idea that type of Kartoffelsalat takes that long to prepare! Thanks for sharing :)

[@sisuguillam5109]

Kartoffelsalatrezept? Oh, bitte!

[@claudiakarl7888]

@@OurStorytoTell Every potatoe salad takes time to prepare if you do it yourself. It’s a lot of peeling and slicing - and then the salad has to rest in the marinade or dressing for a while. 😉

[@michischaeffler]

We always put the x-mas tree up on the 24th. When I was a child, my dad took me out of the house visiting relatives. Funny that my mom was always too busy to come with us that day 🙈. Late afternoon when my dad and I came back, the door to the living room was closed and locked and it was dark inside. I had to take a bath (to kill more time), had to dress nicely, and after that, we went to church. When we came back home, I had to wait in my room, till the little bell was ringing, that was the time, Christkind was done, I could go in, and open my presents. For dinner we usually had just a small meal with sausages, and potato salad. On the 25th we had the bigger meal with the entire family around (siblings, aunts, uncles, grandparents ...) for a fondue. The x-mas tree was taken down on January 6th/7th at the earliest, but most times after February 2nd. When my son was little we had the same procedure with getting him out of the house (my dad did that again - I'm a single mom), but now I was always too busy to come with him. Funny how things change 🤣 At x-mas markets there is often the options to write a letter to the Christkind to tell, what you were wishing for. And of course that was always exciting. Years later we had the opportunity to sit on Santa Clause's lap (mixing different x-mas cultures together), but I assume Covid changed the game here too. But we also wrote a wish list and put it in an envelope onto a window sill, where the Christkind or a helper would pick it up. Every morning it was very exciting to see whether the letter was still there (that was always a bit of a disappointment of course), but when it finally was gone ... woo hoo. So next year, you could help Willa to draw (I don't think she will be able to write by that time), the presents she wishes for, and put it on the window sill. Also usually starting with December or 1st Advent, there were many Saint Nikolauses in the town in front of stores/shops at the town square. They always gave children little oranges when they walked up to them.

[@nadinebeck2069]

I always loved the idea to open the presents in the morning instead of the German tradition to wait until the christmas dinner has been served. We changed it since the birth of our first child (is nearly 16 years now) and present the decorated tree and the presents in the morning -but on 24th December. So that for dinner with the grandparents everything is as usual 😉. Now a lot if friends also do it the "American-German-crossover-way" I really enjoy our new tradition!

[@Entewickler]

Danke!

[@OurStorytoTell]

Thank you for watching & for the Super Thanks! It really helps us out! ❤️

[@wiglevclamor1536]

Hi, first of all i really enjoy you shearing your experiences and your honesty. It´s quite late for watching christmasbased videos but i just found your channel so here i am. I just wanted to add that at the evening of christmas eve, after me and my family have visited the church and came home again, me and my brother had to go to our rooms to let the "christkind" do it´s magic aka. give the parents time to place all the gifts. Even now since we´re no children anymore tradition lives on. Dad rings a bell to let us know we can come down to celebrate. Musics playing, food is ready, some more Family will come over after they´ve finished their "Bescherung" and we´ll have a beautiful evening/night together. All the best to your little young family!

[@wiglevclamor1536]

Ups, the last part of your video says exactly what i mentioned. Let´s se it as confimation then :)

[@OurStorytoTell]

Thank you so much for your comment! We are very happy you enjoyed it and we love hearing about your family memories! 😊 We hope you had a great Christmas this year and January too since it’s almost over 😉

[@willionaire77]

Great video. 😎👍 But Willas look on her face had me laughing out loud when Tanner asked her about the chocolate 😂😂😂 She was totally like, eerrrrrrrr....nooo.. 😬

[@tomrupp3358]

In the US, it's more common to follow the advent candle lighting each week during church services. A different family may do a reading each week until Christmas Eve. Mulled cider or wassail? comes and goes out of fashion in the midwest. Usually it's non-alcoholic if children are part of the festivities.:)

[@Anatisti]

When I was a child, there was always a little golden bell in the christmas tree. When the Chrisatkind arrives and brings the presents it rings this little bell, so that we kids can hear it and knows that the Christkind brings the presents. A common meal for the Christmas Eve is in Germany Potato Salad and sassages. Merry Christmas

[@geneviere199]

My Mom is baking about 20 or more different sorts of Xmas cookies every year and gives them as Xmas presents to neighbours, friends and people that were helping them in the last year. Oh, and her kids... ;) I do not know what it really is as a lot other people use the same recipes - but she gets the cookies baking exactly into the perfect condition and they always look perfect. (The reason why I do not bake... I never would be that good...) The meal on Xmas eve usually is something that you can prepare before the most busy hours of Xmas eve - the most important at that day are the tree and the presents - whereas the meal (usually lunch and later coffee time) on Xmas day is our big meal where family sits together. Depending on how big the family is and how many different branches of family there are - that really can get into a big marathon as you might have to use the 2nd day of Xmas for family visits, too. What is maybe the biggest difference between Germany and the US that in Germany there is still a big cut between Advent time and Xmas - that is shown with putting up the Xmas tree short before Xmas eve, too. There is the advent as waiting time on Xmas - and Xmas time and the time running up to January 6th with Silvester and the Holy 3 kings (atleast in Bavaria where that is still a holiday).

[@jeffhartung5220]

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Here’s my theory about Christmas trees: like a lot of things in America, they’ve been turned into a money grabbing opportunity and artificial trees are more economical. It was nice to have a real tree when my family was overseas.

[@JuliusDiCaprio4471]

Christmas in Germany is magical 🙌 I love it 🎄🎄🎁🥰 with all those difference We all Share the Christmas spirit, love ❤️ family, kindness, Merry Christmas and Happy new year and may god bless you and bless us all Parabéns Feliz Natal 🎉🎉🎊🎊love you guys ❤️🥰😘

[@OurStorytoTell]

Thanks Roberto! Merry Christmas to you as well. We have loved it here. It's been a wonderful time so far!

[@markeschen]

I grew up in the 70's to parents who both moved from Germany to the U.S. We kept many of their German traditions: among other things we celebrated St. Nicholas day, ate German cookies and stollen, sat down to light another advent candle every Sunday, and opened presents on Christmas eve. We also went out to dinner to a nice restaurant for a special meal on Christmas eve. My Dad had to work on Christmas (he worked in a hotel restaurant), so on Christmas Day it was just my mom and sister playing with games and new toys; dinner was not a big deal since my dad was at work. It was not uncommon to visit the cousins on the 26th (whose parents also both came from Germany), but this wasn't treated as a holiday so much as a regular family visit and we usually left before dinner (Despite all of the adults being German born, a traditional American Thanksgiving was the big holiday celebration for our extended family). Except for going out for a real nice dinner on Christmas eve, most of these traditions have gone away for my family and my kids' traditions are very much standard American ones.

[@OurStorytoTell]

Thanks for sharing with us! That’s cool that you guys participated in many of the German traditions while growing up. 😊

[@beverlywalker4111]

👋 from Knoxville TN. I love the advent wreaths in the US in many churches where families take turns lighting a candle. Three purple candles, advent season color, representing hope, love and peace and a pink candle for joy. On Christmas Eve a white candle in the center of the wreath, which is the Christ candle, is lit. Love comparing and contrasting all the traditions. Thank you!

[@OurStorytoTell]

Hello to you Beverly! We love having you a part of our little family & community! How special it is to see that take place. :) We are glad you enjoyed the video.

[@matthiasschlee3402]

As the Christmas tree means something realy special in Germany its been put up very late, mostly at the 24th. If we put it up 4 weeks earlier, it might loose its realy special meaning. Our Adventskranz, St.Nikolaus and Adventskalender are the "Christmastree" during that time. We were getting our tree round about 10 days in advance, when I was a kid. It stood on our balcony to rest for a couple of days. The decoration part was always the same ritual, you can call it a ceremony even. The door of the living room was locked from 2:00pm on. Neither me, nor my 3 younger brothers and sister were allowed to come in. This part belongs to the parents. I think they had some wine and....well who knows what else. At 6:00pm we all went to church. After we went back we had to wait in our rooms until we hear the tiny little sound of a bell. The door of the living room was open. The fragrance of some incense sticks, cinnamon and apples is in the air. And there it stands. In the corner. The Christmas Tree decorated diffrently every year, this time mostly red an white, with angels hair and handcrafted wooden ornaments, crafted Christbaumkugeln some made out of glass and stars. And the most important thing it was lightenend by real candles.( during these 18 years celebrating with real candles we always had a bucket filled with water standing near the tree. We did not have to use it once!!!) The feeling when you enter the room seeing this tree with the candles for the first time.....its priceless. And I must admit that I have got some tears in my eyes writing this down right now. Never ever would you gain something like this, if you put up your tree weeks in advance!!!

[@Al69BfR]

A few years ago we had a village near where I live that did something like a light festival for a couple of years. They had a parking lot and even a shuttle service and a christmas „market“ with a few stalls for food and drinks between all those decorated houses. And they were decorated with lights as much as we know it from the US. But that‘s still not very common in Germany. In another city one family is also decorating their house US style and people come and visit to watch the decorations. So the family with the help of friends are selling Bratwurst and Glühwein where the earnings are going to charity.

[@birgittepetersen9334]

Aebleskivers= æbleskiver. In the 1700s, it was a slice of an apple dipped in dough and fried on the pan. In the 1850s, small pieces of apples were dipped in dough and baked on a special æbleskive pan. Nowadays we eat them without apples but with either blackcurrant jam or icing sugar. Merry Christmas from Denmark

[@dankarubarth7678]

We also have a lot of traditional or folk christmas songs. And we also in some areas have Schwippbogen and Christmas Pyramids. And on Berlin christmas market we often can buy Kandierter Apfel ( apple on a stick, covered in red sugar glasur.)

[@OurStorytoTell]

So cool! The candied apple sounds tasty!

[@markusfrey5625]

Hi there, the very Best Christstollen i have ever ate is directly from Dresden. We order before 1st Advent online since 10 Years. The Christstollen is baked in a traditional Bakery. The Origin Receipt is from the 15th Century. We like also the Almond Stollen. If you want the Adress, pls contact me. My English is not so good, sorry. Regards Markus

[@OurStorytoTell]

Hi Markus! Keine problem. Dein Englisch ist besser als mein Deutsch 👍🏼. Is that Christstollen made with marzipan? Feel free to send us the address if you'd like! Frohe Weihnachten!

[@szeddezs]

​@@OurStorytoTell Whatever type of Stollen you end(ed) up buying, I recommend splurging a bit on a craftsman made, 'real' bakery Stollen at least once per Christmas season, it's so worth it.

[@mojganjazayeri1862]

Great content and very informative as always. Thank you very much for all the videos you have uploaded and shared in 2021. From bottom of my heart it is greatly appreciated. Merry Christmas (Sorry for the late note) and Happy New Year. Please stay happy and healthy .I am very much looking forward to seeing your videos in 2022.

[@Silber7]

While I don't know about any Lights Festivals in an official capacity - some people, especially in recent decades, made it a hobby to turn their private house decorations (usually mainly window lights) up to a level comparable to what you told about. I remember two homes in my neighborhood one-upping each other every season, so that that street corner was visible glowing from far away, and they even sold Glühwein to the many people wandering by :D

[@njordholm]

Very traditional food (gifted or selfmade with kids at home) eaten around 11th of november (St. Martin) and 6th of december (St. Nikolaus) is the "Stutenkerl" aka "Weckmann". It's like sweet bread made out of yeast dough in form or shape of a man (bishop) with raisins as docoration for his eyes and typically decorated with a clay pipe as well. Very delicious, give it try next season.

[@berndgaal7689]

For 2 -3 people: Buy a goose breast from a butcherie (better than a whole goose). Wash it and dry with kitchen paper. Salt it everywhere. Put it in a so called Bräter (an oval pot with a lid) add 500 ml water, quarter pieces onions, carrots, (suppengemüse) pre-warm the oven 250 degrees and then put it in the oven for 90 Minutes at 225 degrees. Then take the pot out and stich with a toothpik the skin everywhere. Next put it in the oven without the lid for another 60 Minutes while pouring the liquid from the bottom over the breast from time to time. Now it should be brown and crispy. Next: Take the meat out and let it rest while you are making the gravy. IMPORTANT!!!!! Put the left over liquid in a smaller pot. Then smash the vegtabels throu a strainer to get the liquid out of it. A shot of red wine and a glass of poultry fond (every supermarket has it) To make the sauce thicker use dunklen Sossenbinder (Also Rewe etc.) add salt and pepper. Thats it!!! Red cabbage and Kartoffelklöße sind perfekt dazu.

[@OurStorytoTell]

Thanks for the recommendation and recipe! We are going to keep it smaller for the years ahead because the goose was a lot for the 3 of us 😂.

[@avs200619]

I was at the Christmas market in Gengenbach and saw the Rathaus there was their advent calendar. Read that it’s the world’s largest! Pretty cool!

[@feschannette4227]

Hi there, best Platzerl at my home are Zimtsterne and Vanillekipferl.

[@Nulpy]

One thing which is very common especially under colleagues, school mates or friend-groups is called " Wichteln ". It goes like this: the participants randomly draw their names from a bag so each one has one. For this person you secretly buy something nice, wrap it in wrapping paper , put their name on and all gifts are going into a big bag. On a day everyone meet again and they pick their gifts and have to GUESS who is the GIFTER. Mostly there is a price limit set before ahead. ( there is another version called Schrott-Wichteln, where you would exchange funny, or crappy or unwanted gift as a joke ).

[@nordwestbeiwest1899]

A tip for you if you are back in the States during Advent then fly to Chicago because the German Embassy has the best German Christmas market in North America with German dealers and German real wooden houses and Germans real food brought from Germany on site. Okay There are also some stalls with traders from South America but with handmade items such as hats, gloves and sweaters, as well as other things that go with a German Christmas market.

[@hans-dieternichau5467]

USA und Germany das kann man nicht vergleichen ,andere Länder gleich andere Sitten ! Ich persönlich mag die vielen Lichter in den USA überall in den Vorgärten jede Menge Weihnachtsdeko das sieht richtig Cool aus ! .Hier in Deutschland wird es auch immer öfter zu Sehen sein! Ich persönlich finde die Deutsche Tradition besinnlicher ,aber das muss jeder für sich selbst entscheiden 🎅🎅🎅für euch war ja vieles anders und das ist auch gut so ,das ihr Mal was zu Sehen bekommt was neu ist ! Ich denke ihr werdet hier noch vieles entdecken was nicht so ist wie in Amerika! Liebe Grüße und viel Spass auf eurer Entdeckungsreise🤩🤩🤩

[@SvenGadgetKlemmbausteine]

The Krampus is more a south german thing. Here in north germany i never see a Krampus tradition. Her you only fill up the shoes or put something in front of the door. When I was in the US for the first time in 1989, it was over Christmas in North Dakota. Everywhere the houses were decorated with lights. The crowd was a shock to me because at the time it wasn't very common to do so much with lights in Germany. In the meantime there is a lot more here. This year there were 18 Christmas markets in Hamburg, a few fewer than before Cornona.With us there are on December 25th. always a turkey. Incidentally, there was also one in North Dakota at this time. A very common meal in Germany on Christmas Eve are sausages with potato salad or buttered rolls. When I was a child, my uncle came dressed as Santa Claus on December 24th. and brought the presents. I had to recite a poem to Santa Claus and he asked me if I was also good.

[@Burnoutweltmeister]

I enjoy every video from you 😍 merry christmas for your nice Family🎅🏼🎄

[@kenardturner7173]

Advent Calenders are popular in the United States. When our children were younger we would have several so they would each get a chocolate treat each day. Most of the population in the Midwestern States down to Central Texas are of German/ Scandinavian decent. Many of the Christmas traditions are still celebrated.

[@emmacoldwellweber]

Tanner I love your hair! 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼

[@OurStorytoTell]

Thanks!

[@wonka6848]

In the south we have the Christkind, in the north there's the Weihnachtsmann.

[@hest7421]

According to one of the more popular theories about Santa Claus, most people celebrate Saint Nicholas without realizing it. When the veneration of saints was prohibited during the times of reformation, people did not like the idea of letting go of one of the most important saints. So it started that the celebration of two christian holidays became on. Christmas was celebrated by catholics and reformist. Both holidays were in the same month, only days apart. So at some point in time Saint Nicholas came back as Santa Claus.

[@lilys4161]

I think most families have their big meals on the 25th because it is most common to have extended family over and it’s busier. However, Christmas Eve is more important for us and is mostly spent with close family in a more quiet and calmer manner.

[@nadal1275]

My Father was a huge US-Fan in the 90th and after seeing the christmas lights on the privat houses he orderd a lot from the US and had a professional guy to set it all up. In our town (100.000 people) we were the first one with that kind of lights. The people came from nearly EVERYWHERE to see that. we even had the problem that the traffic backed up in our street because to many came to watch. Today its much more common to see US-Style christmas lights on privat houses her in germany

[@ravanpee1325]

Energy costs are skyrocketing today

[@nadal1275]

@@ravanpee1325 agree, but i can´t see how that relates to my post at all

[@katharinabruns9480]

Another difference might be that Christmas is three days of celebration in Germany. For most of us Christmas is: 24 = Celebrating with the core Family (mother, father, children), 25 = Celebrating at the house of your grandparents with all your siblings and grandchildren on the side of the family and 26. = Celebrating at the house of your grandparents with all your siblings and grandchildren on the other side of the family. And after these three days full of food, sweets and good wine you need a holiday just for digestion.

[@v.8510]

A really important tradition in the bavarian region and in "Allgäu" is "Christbaumloben". Praise the Christmas tree. Usually you go to friends and neighbors and praise the Christmas Tree even if the tree is ugly or crooked. In every case you get a Glas of Schnaps from the Christmas tree owner. I do this a lot. 😎

[@heha6984]

Ich wünsche Euch noch einen wunderbaren zweiten Weihnachtsfeiertag! :)

[@OurStorytoTell]

Vielen Dank!

[@roesi1985]

There is a kind of "light festival" tradition in the Ore Mountains called "Lichtlfahrt" (light cruise), but it's not really an organized thing and you don't have to pay anything either. People in the Ore Mountains are known for their beautiful Christmas decorations, and they usually put up a lot of them in their windows and on their houses. So during Advent season, a lot of people hop in their car at night and drive through the villages, looking at the beautiful lights. You can also do a small walking tour if you live in one of the bigger towns. Friends from the Ore Mountains told me that in former times, people used to do these cruises with sleds and horses.

[@OurStorytoTell]

This is amazing! Thank you for letting us know. Hopefully next year we can visit it. 😊

[@annaluhrs1818]

Light markets/events seem to become popular in the last years in Germany as well (at least in NRW), but not necessarily related to the Christmas time. Here in town we have Herbstlichter (autumn lights) in October and November.

[@OurStorytoTell]

Fun to learn about! Thanks! Going to check out the autumn lights because we love that concept!

[@jenniferlewisharris7761]

The real Saint Nicholas was from what is modern day Turkey ( which is near Greece) . As a Catholic we're very versed in this, and many have an advent wreaths as well. You pray as a family and discuss the upcoming birth of Jesus for every week of Advent. We have 3 purple candles and one rose. Many use the white on the last night to signify the Light of the World being born! Xoxo

[@OurStorytoTell]

Thanks for the info! Love learning more 😊 xxx

[@SuperLittleTyke]

When I am able to spend Christmases in Hamburg it's the 24th when we open all the presents in the evening, after eating a big meal which is always a meat fondue. But when I skyped my nephew and his family yesterday, this year they also had a cheese fondue. The 25th is the day when a Festessen is served at around 3 pm. I prefer goose to turkey, but in England some families splash out on a really good joint of roast beef or pork. In England Monday and Tuesday 27/28 are public holidays in lieu of Christmas falling on a weekend. We call the 26th (today) Boxing Day, because traditionally it was the day when presents i.e. Christmas Boxes were opened.

[@kathi_LG]

I Love your Videos! Wish you a happy 2022 🥰

[@jojaba2416]

We do have a think called „Christmas Garden“ which is a huge light show you can visit and walk through. But it’s only in a few bigger cities. If you are in one of them during Christmas time, I can highly recommend these..

[@OurStorytoTell]

Thanks for sharing they are called. We can imagine they’re beautiful! 😍

[@dreasbn]

yep pretty accurate... but big meals not on Heiligabend but rather on the 25th... I know that many say Potatoesalat and sausage are common, but i assume it's more of an east German tradition. Hail from Bonn and never knew anyone ever who did this for Heiligabend. It could be fish, or other dishes, Raclette became popular in the 80's.. I always thought Santa Claus and Saint (Ni (klaus) were the same.. and the Dutch version Sinta Klaas is bringing the gifts on Dec 6, the little version is still here in Germany as well on Dec. 6th whereas in the US he shifted his duty to Christmas. Here it's traditionally the Christkind who got competition from Coca Cola's Weihnachtsmann in the 30's and today they are both present. Cookies is tradition... the list is endless. What i always missed and i think is a very important part of Christmas is the music. Of course we do have the pop segment with music from the after war decades up to now. We know the American standards from Jingle Bells.. to White Christmas, Have Yourself a merry little Christmas... and so on. Actually my favorite records are Ella Fitzgerald wishes you a swinging Christmas and Christmas with Dino Dean Martin. But besides the modern there is huge number of ancient Christmas charols from the times of Martin Luther in the 16th up to the early 20th century. They are standard and vary from very festive or calm churchchorals to uplifting childrens songs.. again the list is endless, but they belong to christmas just as much as tree, yes decorated ususally on the 24th because it's Weihnachtsbaum and not Adventsbaum, or the cookies... besides the well known Stille Nacht (Silent Night) it's Oh, Du Fröhliche, Vom Himmel Hoch da komm ich her, Lasst uns froh und munter sein, Morgen Kinder wird's was geben, O Tannenbaum, Alle Jahre Wieder, Fröhliche Weihnacht überall, Süßer die Glocken nie klingen, Ihr Kinderlein kommet, Kommet Ihr Hirten, Am Weihnachtsbaume die Lichter brennen, Es ist für uns eine Zeit angekommen, Macht hoch die Tür, Tochter Zion, Maria durch ein Dornwald ging, Leise rieselt der Schnee, Kling Glöckchen klingelingeling, Es ist ein Ros entsprungen, and so on..

[@OurStorytoTell]

Love learning from your comment! Thanks 😊

[@th60of]

I grew up in a very traditional family. No Christmas tree before Christmas Eve, and then the tree (or what remained of it) would stay until Candlemas. Nowadays the local authorities decide when you need to put out your tree for garbage collection.

[@StricherohneRechte]

Hello I really love your videos. We ate mostly Duck or a Bunny on Christmas. On Christmas eve we used to eat raclett. Know we have at least 2 Christmas circuses around in NRW. Idk if you would like to visit them. I will visit the one in Gelsenkirchen soon.

[@OurStorytoTell]

A Christmas circus? Like the same with animal performances and juggling? We had no idea that was a popular thing to do during the holidays. Thanks for sharing!

[@uliwehner]

yes, for the rabbit. so good. The other white meat as we say. we would get them from a local farmer friend who raised them for the purpose, also butchered them for us. one of my favorites. and not available here in the US apparently.

[@StricherohneRechte]

@@uliwehner We used to raised them our self.

[@katlady9993]

In my childhood and till today my grandmother ger her Christmas tree at 3rd Advent sunday and it stays in her living room until 6 th January. The Adventskranz is my part to decorate since I am living not more home so it is for her like I stay with them for the hole Christmas time because it was made by me it's like our personal Christmas tradition, also I usually do a self made adventskalender for my boyfriend with pictures we take over the last year so we can remember the adventures together. As a Tipp is the Christmas market in Dortmund with German biggest Christmas tree and the Christmas market in Essen that is really beautiful and both near to each other.

[@OurStorytoTell]

Thank you for sharing & the tip! We hope to go to one of those Christmas markets! 😊

[@rashomon351]

The Christkind is a catholic thing and brings the gifts to catholic families. In protestant families it's the Weihnachtsmann aka Santa Claus. This isn't really a regional thing. But since there are more catholic people in the southern part of germany as in the northern part, it may seem so.

[@carmenotto5836]

Adventskalender used to be with chocolate only, when I was young. During the last years it seems as if everyone in economy develops ideas how to put it's produce in an Adventskalender. For me that ist defenitely too much. Most Kalenders are much too expensive, compared, what ist inside. I love self-made Kalenders a lot. I prepared those for my children, when they were young.

[@OurStorytoTell]

We love the self made idea! 😊

[@berndgaal7689]

The christmas tree tradition comes from Germany and goes back to 16 century, when they hang the tree upside down from the ceiling. The adventskranz is also an old german tradition that did not make it to the states as far as I know. Interesting facts that I didnt know myself. The tree comes into the house not before the 24th December (christmas eve) and will be thrown out on the 6th of January. But most people nowadays set it up way earlier.

[@carljames1411]

A Lebkutsche would be a one horse open sleigh made out of gingerbread.

[@maxbarko8717]

In the 1970 Nikolaus was dressed like a bishop with a crosier and the typical hat. He was accompanied by Knecht Ruprecht who had a rod to punish the bad kids. Times luckily have changed. Kids were quite scared.

[@pixelbartus]

There is a funny legend behind the goose meal on christmas eve. In the old days the church forbid to eat meat and drink alcohol for a period before chrismas. This period included christmas eve. But fish was allowed. Some monks argued, that gooses are swimming in the water, so they considered them as a kind of fish and had a great meal on christmas eve. Also considering beer as liquid bread was an excuse, to drink alcohol during the period, the church forbid it.

[@OurStorytoTell]

That is funny to hear about!

[@RedRose167]

I live in Hamburg and we never thought that the Christkind brings the presents; this is more popular in the south of Germany I think. In the north Santa Claus is the one that brings the present. In my childhood he was always there at the time we were at church and that’s why we never saw him 🤣

[@jewel79]

I am really curious about this.. My family is from NRW and the town where I grew up had the Christkind (as a kid at least I never noticed that there was a Weihnachtsmann in Germany) so when we moved to Niedersachsen in the late 80s every kid only knew the Weihnachtsmann which irritated me. Now when we go back to my homecity in NRW it's the Weihnachtsmann everywhere... what happened?! lol... I keep the Christkind tradition alive now with my kids who grow up in North Germany. 😁 (Little edit: 3/4 of my grandparents originates from Schlesien so I wonder if they brought the Christkind from there...)

[@amandaziccatti6195]

We also live in NRW and we have both. So on Christmas Eve Santa Claus with its little assistant the Christkind brings the presents. 😄

[@katharinawimmer7405]

@@amandaziccatti6195 The same goes for us. Santa Claus and the Christkind both brought the presents. I mean why chose between the Christkind or Santa Claus when you can just have both of them together? 😆

[@joolboom7636]

@@amandaziccatti6195 Bei uns bringen auch beide die Geschenke.

[@claudiakarl7888]

@@jewel79 It depends on whether the are is predominantly protestant or catholic.

[@gast9374]

Tanner hat ein "Aua". 😯

[@MichaEl-rh1kv]

The tradition to put up the Christmas tree at Heiligabend (Christmas' eve) or at least not before the fourth Sunday of Advent aims to avoid the tree drying out before Epiphany (Dreikönig at Jan. 6th). Even if the tree is bought early in Advent, it will be stored outside in the cold, because in a heated room it would soon become dry and loose its needles. In the tradition of the Catholic Church Christmas time ends at Candlemas (Feb. 2nd), and in Christmas cribs the holy three magi or kings will not appear before Jan. 6th, so the tree is not to be removed before Jan 6th (even if it is not really part of the Catholic Christmas traditions in the narrower sense).

[@catmini1]

Christkind is celebrated in the south of Germany (catholic) and the Weihnachtsman (Santa) is in the north of Germany (prothestantic).

[@christiankastorf1427]

"Apfelpfannkuchen" need to be eaten as fingerfood. You take one and dip the greasy, warm ball into a small of heap of sugar that you have put on your plate. It has become a tradition for my wife and me that I bake/fry them in my workshop on the top of my iron stove there. The hot palm or butter fat (ghee) that you need to bake them in that pan may splutter around there and cannot do any harm. Small portions do not make any sense at all so I make lots of them for our neighbours as well.

[@OurStorytoTell]

Mmmm 😋😋 we need to try one!

[@howierfs5471]

Hi guys, first of all Merry Christmas and I hope you have had a nice time with you tiny family. Its intersting to learn the differences of christmas celebrations. I am pretty sure that Willa will know more about the meaning of an Adventskalender for her, as long as behind each door chocolate is hidden :-D Well, may you built up one by your own. Nice sharing a calender as parents luckely no one comes short when you choose the even or uneven days. As time runs fast, do you now what to do with the christmas tree after 6th of jan ? Here in my town the members of the Schützenverein collect the old trees, of course they dont refuse any kind of donation and money will be donated to the church), and burn them later somewhere on an open field. May be similar happen in your area as well. Get informed. I still remember as kid we have had real candles burning on the christmas tree, before the electric ones were common. Always very dangerous that time and often, due to the dried out tree and needles, it finished in one big burning candle. Such accidents were common. Yes, the famous, well known Christstollen, fruit cake is the Dresdner Stollen. Its not my personal favourite and Stollen isnt anyway. Its very dry and I dont like some ingredients. Of course you have to taste once, may be another brand as they taste different. As mentioned time is running fast and next traditions on Silvester/Neujahr are coming, the first tradition in januar are the "Sternsinger". It will be announced when they will come from house to house so ask your neighbours who may know. Be prapared with some sweets for the 4 kids and a little donation moneywise(2,3,5, or 10€) for the purpose they are collecting. Unfortunately the last 2 years it didnt happen due to corona here. I wish you a nice time off(hopefully) and enjoy.

[@OurStorytoTell]

Thank you for your comment! It’s fun to learn from you as well as here about your memories & preferences. We will keep our eye out for people coming. Have a wonderful new year!

[@jensschroder8214]

Advent calendar, not just for children. Everyone knows an advent calendar with chocolate. But there are more variations. Advent calendar with small building blocks and figures to play with. An advent calendar with small books and short stories. Then tool advent calendar. Up to adult advent calendars with toys for the bedroom. Everyone finds something. And then there is still the possibility of making a calendar with 24 small sacks (large washcloths) and filling them yourself. I wouldn't pay a single cent just to look at lights. Often times the US has way too many lights. Weihnachtsstollen, does not buy the cheapest and driest. There are big differences in the ingredients. Best handmade by a local baker. Sankt Nikolaus (D) -> Sint Nicolaas (NL) -> Santa Claus (US), And then the Coke advertisement. Nikolaus, Nicolaas and Claus are all the same name. (Niklas, Niko, Klaus ... ) Sankt, Sint and Santa means a holy Person in catholic tradition.

[@Plasma1iTV]

In Northern and Eastern Germany comes Santa Claus and in Western and Southern Germany mostly the Christkind

[@j.h.7730]

I don't drink neither. My husband gets for me and the kids "Kinderpunsch"

[@OurStorytoTell]

It’s tasty stuff! 😊

[@berndgaal7689]

According to the tradition you set it up on holy eve (Dec.24th) and throw it out on 6th of Jan. Of course most people set it up way earlier.

[@Aurora150264]

Sadly you are here in Germany while the world is fighting against Covid. I live in Nord-Rhein-Westfalen and here most of the "Weihnachtsmärkte" were cancelled. That is really very sad, because a lot of the nice Chistmas atmosphere got lost. We also put up our christmas tree at the 24th of december, that is very common, and I loved it when on christmas eve the children saw this wonderful decorated and illuminated christmas tree. The childrens eyes were sparkling more than the tree. Do you have German friends? Are you speaking German?

[@crazy-tommy]

The Christkind only brings presents in the southern region of germany. In the northern and eastern regions the job goes to Santa aka Weihnachtsmann.

[@lilys4161]

Whether the Christkind or Santa clause is coming depends entirely on the family. In my child Santa clause knocked in the door on Christmas Eve but my cousins had the Christkind come. As for all the different cookies, a swap and big baking parties are common especially in primary schools and nurseries as a special holiday activity. Sugar cookies are most common with young children to decorate. Aebleskivers are very common in Schleswig-Holstein as we are so close to Denmark and have a lot of Scandinavian influences up there. I love them so much but eat them all year round.

[@OurStorytoTell]

Thanks for sharing! It’s fun to hear what is common. 😊

[@SHAYSPIRATION]

👍

[@lewi1983]

Tanner didn't want to do housework. You can see it on his eyebrow. 😂

[@OurStorytoTell]

😂😂 he got in a little mishap while taking down the trampoline

[@Turbo-ic8lw]

Fröhliche Weihnachten

[@teotik8071]

About having a real christmas tree. Do not get it weeks before christmas and do not put it in the warm until 24th, this way the needles stay longer. Often the little things are the ones that make the difference.

[@Orbitalbomb]

Christkind is not the one bringing gifts everywhere. There are large parts of Germany where the Weihnachtsmann (Santa) brings the gifts. Baking Weihnachtsplätzchen is also very, very common in Germany but I’m not sure about the swapping you mentioned.

[@muncedev11]

Funeral potatoes caught my ear. I have never heard of those. Is it unique to Utah?

[@OurStorytoTell]

We wondered if someone would catch that! It is more unique to Utah, but can be found other places. Maybe just with a different name 😊

[@muncedev11]

@@OurStorytoTell It sounds delicious! I did a little more research, and it appears that it originated with the LDS church; are you guys LDS?

[@MichaEl-rh1kv]

You'll not find many Christmas light shows in Southern Germany, also not many houses decorated with gaudy fairy lights / lightning chains. In some regions in the East however, e.g. Saxony, this is a thing. Swapping Christmas cookies does happen, but only with selfmade cookies from selfmade dough. ;) In (northern) Swabia there is tradition named Springerle, cookies formed with often selfmade (carved) or inherited molds named 'Model' (pronunciated more like 'modl'), see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Springerle, which are made to be swapped or given as a small gift. The traditional meal at Christmas' Eve (Heiligabend) would at least in most Catholic regions be something simple and hearty, often hot sausages (Wiener / Frankfurter) with potato salad, alternatively hot potatoes (sometimes in the skin) with red herring salad or similar. Some families switched nowadays to raclette or fondue. But there are also regions, where it is common to have the Christmas goose or Christmas carp as early as Christmas' Eve. About 150 years ago the pre-Christmas lentil ended at the evening of the 24th, so after dark at Christmas' Eve was the first time you were allowed to eat (but also to roast) meat again (admittedly the Advent Sundays were however excepted from the strict fasting rules), but most people saved the festival roast for the day after. In many families - including that of my Catholic mother and that of my Protestant father - it was tradition that the living room was forbidden territory to the children during the day at Dec. 24th. The parents then decorated the room (and the Christmas tree, if they had one, as well as the crib in Catholic families) and placed the presents. At dark, and if all was ready, they ringed a bell as signal, and the children were allowed to enter the decorated room, mostly lit only by candles. It were mostly poorer times, and as my mother told us, she got for many years each year the same doll as present (which vanished some weeks before to go to the "doll doctor" and came back fully repaired with new clothes and if necessary new hair).

[@OurStorytoTell]

Hi Micha! Thanks for the long comment about the Christmas traditions. It's so great to learn about all the different traditions and how they differ from each region! We hope you had a Merry Christmas!

[@carmenotto5836]

So, merry christmas to you and Willa! I once again noticed, how difficult German ist. Risa has to try to pronounce "Lebkuchen" once again. The "ch" is the difficulty. In Arab they have got many such sounds. In German you have it for example in "Dach" = roof" or "Buch = book" or like in Lebkuchen "Kuchen = cake". In other words in German a "ch" ist pronounced completely different. For example in "Küche = kitchen" or "Plätzchen = cookie". You probably know, why you always said "cookie" and not "Plätzchen" in the video ;-) Those words are very challenging. Don't give up! All the best wishes for you!

[@OurStorytoTell]

They are challenging for sure! 😊 Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you!

[@cailwi9]

The confusion about the German Christmas meal is first and foremost a terminology thing, but there is a bit more behind it, let me explain. Given that the Christmas gift giving (die Bescherung) happens on the 24th in the evening, not the 25th like in UK and US, many people in Germany, when asked about their meal at Christmas, think about the meal on Christmas Eve, not the big meal on the following day. So much for the terminology difference. But... The 24th of December is in its origin all about the transition from a time of fasting to the holiday season, a transition from darkness to light, and yes, in Christian tradition, advent is a time of fasting. The meal on the evening of the 24th was the meal that broke the fast. But at the same time, the 24th of Dec. is and was a very busy time for any host or house wife or anybody preparing the home for the feast and the potential arrival of family guests, and so the meal, which on that day did not have center stage, had to be simple. There are two most common traditions that are the most widespread. Either the carp as an early dinner before going to church, or alternatively, the hotdogs with potato salad, after church. Of course, other traditions exist, but these tend to be the ones on the top of the list. In our family, where lots of people had to travel to get to our house, it often was a simple vegetable soup, as that tends to be something that travelers appreciate when coming from the cold into a warm home. But again, something simple. Church is in the center, which celebrates this transition from dark (you enter into a darkened church) and then the lights come on with the 'Christ is born' message. I have found the same in orthodox churches, coptic churches, Catholic Churches, and with that everybody transitions from the advent season to the actual holiday season (12 days of Xmas), which is from 25th of December to 6th of January. On the 25th and 26th, most people are off work, families are together and somewhere in there, there will be a big celebratory meal, and that is where the goose, typically with red cabbage and dumplings, comes into the picture. But you also will find other roasts instead of the goose or duck, and other favorite dishes on the 25th, and that day tends to play out in like a typical Thanksgiving Thursday in the US would do. It is also very much a family oriented holiday, not a party day, like Xmas in the US. So no walking from house to house in Germany on Xmas. People are typically mostly at home or at a family member's house. People who are lonely on Xmas in Germany, have the same difficulties that you get in the US around Thanksgiving, and hopefully, people find ways to include some of those that have nobody to go to. My family often had students with us from other countries, who could not fly home for Christmas break, and so we often had guests from different countries and traditions, but that was certainly rather the exception, than the rule. Now what has happened in recent decades, is that less and less people in Germany have a strong relationship to religion anymore, at the same time, Germany is more divers in religions, and also the commercial aspects have spilled over the German traditions, and a strange mix has evolved. On one hand you have Christmas markets, which are anything but a fasting event, but everybody loved them, and so they got embraced and have very much grown as a new tradition that Germany is now known for world wide. When I grew up, Xmas markets were rare, and mostly limited to trading cities (like Nuernberg, Vienna) and from there everything evolved somewhere in the last 40 years or so. Cookies are eaten long before Christmas Day now, and if you just asked people in the street, many probably would not know anymore that Advent is traditionally time of fasting. But that transition from advent to Christmas is still pretty strong in Germany, the whole country transitions from a time of busy life, to a time of rest, and the Tannenbaum is clearly seen as a Christmas decoration, not as an advent one, and that is also why people buy it so much later than they do in the US, where it is one long holiday season starting with Thanksgiving and typically ending around New Year.

[@OurStorytoTell]

Thank you for your comment! We learned so much from reading it. We had no idea Christmas markets weren’t common back then and that Advent was a time for fasting.

[@diedruidin]

It's so interesting to see all your adventures. Glühwein 🍷 and "gebrannte Mandeln" (Almond)😋 sorry, so a cute couple... Ad - vEents - Kalender... the pronunciation is on the E not D...and Ad not Ä (SAndra/Sändra)... I wish you all a nice 🎇🫕🙋‍♀️

[@OurStorytoTell]

Thank you! We need the tips. :)

[@diedruidin]

@@OurStorytoTell sorry for my "complained"...

[@fatdad64able]

If you'd listen to me, you do it the way you want.

[@Andrei2patrU]

did Tanner pick up boxing as a hobby? or was it just the kitchen counter (happened to me a few weeks back - the cut)

[@OurStorytoTell]

Haha no he was taking the trampoline down and had a mishap!

[@christianmoller4921]

The christmas-goose is NOT the popular eating on christmas. Kartoffelsalat with sausages is also popular as same. In the north or northwest we eat Herings-Tipp as christmas-meal for the northern people as eaqual!

[@kevinblankenburg4816]

Normally it is a simple meal on Christmas Eve and the big meals on the first and second. And my mother will shoot me if I trade her cookies.

[@OurStorytoTell]

Hahah don’t trade the cookies then 😂

[@berndgaal7689]

Do you have Glühwein in the U.S.??? I have never seen it when I lived in Canada.

[@OurStorytoTell]

No idea! I would think some German Christmas markets in major cities (Chicago) probably do, but we have never been to a German Weihnachtsmarkt in the U.S., so we aren't the best to ask.

[@prometheus4993]

some ours before, me and my step daughter and her 5 jear young daughter had a wonderful traditioal meal with Sauerkraut, Würstchen (little sausage) and special like swedish sauce and tomato .. from IKEA with 32 wursts and 32 buns and 3 types of spices and soon ...) all in all for a very big familiy for 19.90 euros ) .. by the way, the quality in usa is so much lower than in europe...sad to say... but better for the youngest!

[@CarstenOepping]

where you get this bruise from ?

[@suveemi60]

A Turkey is also really common here on Christmas Day (Erster Weihnachtstag) smilar to what you have on Thanksgiving in the US. An other difference is that we have a 2. Day of Christmas (2. Weihnachtstag) here in Germany.

[@jensschroder8214]

Sankt Nikoulaus comes from Turkey. When Christianity was still a branch of Judaism, today's Turkey was one of the countries where there were the most Christians. In what was then the Roman province of "Asia" there were already many Jews and their meetinghouses. The Christians often use their meeting places and also took over the course of the meetings. But Judaism is almost only open to Jews with Jewish ancestry, the new Christianity expressly also to people without Jewish roots. Christianity can also be described religiously as a further development and improvement. Over time, the number of Christians grew much faster than that of the Jews and traditions of their own were established. Constantinople, today's Istandul, became the center as important as Rome. But the Islamic conquest made it harder and harder. In addition, the Pope in Rome declared the church leader in Constantinople to be invalid because it was a woman. The arguments were not just about religious interpretation but about who has power. The city of Constantinople remained the center of the Eastern Orthodox Church even under Islamic rule. The churches in Greece refer to either Constantinople or Rome. Or belong to the Evangelicals / Protestants, a broken branch of the Catholic Church. Protestants because they protested against the grievances in the Catholic Church and wanted to go back to the original spirit Islam did not emerge until after Judaism and Christianity. The foregoing writings were known. It was also very important for Islam to have a book of its own. Islam liked to convince previous religions with the sword. But with the payment of a high tax, Christianity was allowed to continue to exist under the palm of the hand.

[@martinheyer1384]

What do you think about our "Krippen"? Did you know something like that before? ....and a little hint: the better translation for Christkind is "little Christ". Because "Christ Child" would mean it's the child of Jesus Christ, wouldn't it? Merry Christmas to you!!!