Hello Doreen,
I am from South Germany (Baden-Wurttemberg), 60 years old. When I was a
child in Mannheim, I sat in the dark kitchen with my great-grandfather
and/or grandfather during the afternoon, they would tell stories about
the Christkind. My parents were helping the Christkind to decorate the
tree in the living room and put the presents into place. In many
families children had their toys refreshed for Christmas, the dolls,
grocer's shop, or wooden train sometimes disappeared a few weeks before
and were found again under the tree, splendidly repainted, with new
dresses, new goods etc. The Christkind would sometimes loose a bit of
glittering stuff in the corridor when it went off. At about 6 p.m., a
glass bell on the tree would ring, the door go wide, my parent start a
Christmas carol, and my grandfather(s) and I join them. Then I would say
my Christmas poem and we unwrapped the presents. When I was older, my
parents and I lived on our own, no more Christmas stories in the
afternoon, but I finished the presents I had made, or wrapped what I had
bought from my pocket money. During the fifties making Christmas
presents for the parents was very popular in school, especially for the
girls: crocheting kettle-holders, or knitting mittens, mufflers or
bed-shoes, weaving book-covers, embroidering table-sets etc.
Christmas customs are still very vivid in Bavaria, where on the 4
Sundays of Adent carol singing is very often seen on television.
About everywhere you have Weihnachtsmärkte, or Christkindelmärkte, they
have even spread to France and are a huge attraction for tourists.
In primary schools or kindergardens children will make decorations for
the tree, lern carols and sometimes even bake Christmas cookies. They
older ones will do Christmas plays, often seen on television, too. Very
important: the Adventskalender with the 24 doors. Not always filled with
chocolate, some of them are very artistic. I have kept many of mine from
my first one in 1949, and hang them up every year. In our family
Christmas decorations are kept too, I have stars, angels and other
things from my own and my children's childhood. The tree and the house
are still decorated with these. No more candlelights since our son
nearly brought the tree with the burning lights down on him in 1979.
On the 6th of December is Nikolaustag, Nikolaus being the ancestor of
Santa Claus. He will come in catholic regions in bishop's robes with
staff and mitre, accompanied by Knecht Ruprecht or various other figures
who will bring small presents for the good children and menace the bad
ones with the birch rod (whipping has gone out of fashion!. Knecht
Ruprecht's outfit became the traditionel Santa Claus costume we know,
only in dark green and brown before becoming universally red thanks to
Coca-Cola marketing strategies.) Sometimes he puts the bad ones' names
into his black book which means that they might not get all the
Christmas presents they have written for - because small children write
a beautifully decorated letter to the Christkind (or the Weihnachtsmann
in protestant regions), with a list of what they would like for
Christmas. In some places the postal services will answer these letters
by sending a card. In France there is even a national service for this.
My grandson (2 on Dec 9th) didn't see St.Nikolaus but put a boot in
front of the door in the evening of the 5th, and found it on the 6th in
the morning filled with Lebkuchen, marchpane, an orange, walnuts and
pieces of money made of chocolate and wrapped in silver and gold foil.
Wishing you all a very happy time
with greetings from France
Colette (Llorca)
www.llorcahome.org