Frohe Weihnachten!
From all German-speaking countries …
As part of the Secondary School World Languages’ continuing celebration of different cultures, the focus during the last week of term has been on ‘The Festive Season in German-speaking countries’, where Germanists from Year 8 up to Year 13 have learnt just how differently German Christmas is celebrated, and then were treated to some delicious German cakes – “Schwarzwälderkirschtorte” (Black Forest gateau) and “Schweizer Schokoladentorte” (Swiss Chocolate Cake).
The main features of a German Christmas would include:
- The Advent Calendar (“Adventkalender”) is widely used for daily December countdowns
- The Christmas Market (“Weihnachtsmarkt”) – traditional outdoor stalls with mulled wine and crafts
- St. Nicholas Day (“Sankt Nikolaus-Tag”) – celebrated on December 6th, with a gift-bringing tradition
- Christmas Eve (“Heiligabend”) – is the main gift-giving time
- Christ Child (“Christkind”) – an angel-like figure that replaces Santa for delivering gifts
… to say nothing of the “Glühwein” (mulled-wine), “Lebkuchen” (ginger-biscuits) and “Stollen” (German Christmas-cake) which all go towards making a German Christmas extra special!
Wishing you all “Frohe Weihnachten!” (Happy Christmas!)
