Another German tradition in my family is St. Nicklaus. Carolyn & I actually kept this going for each other waaaay longer than we were supposed to, but hey, it was fun!In Germany, St. Nicklaus comes on his Saint's Day (check your Catholic Calendar - all saints have a specific day). So kids put out their boots on the night of the 5th, so St. Nicklaus can fill them with either goodies or coal, depending on the kids' behavior.
Trevor & Diana also get to celebrate St. Nicklaus in their German classes at the high school :)
It's not a huge gift time, just some goodies and a
smaller gift. But this saves us from having to wake up early on Christmas Day. We celebrate Christ's birth on Christmas Eve, with all the candles lit and the tree lights shining. My family has pretty much celebrated this way since we found out that's what our parents did in Germany. Somehow, it's just a little more special to me when we're all dressed nice for the evening, vs. pajamas at the crack of dawn. But that's my personal preference. And my husband's & kids too. We save Christmas Day for the big dinner & enjoying the company of friends & family.
In Germany, there are also multiple days of Christmas (like the Twelve Days of Christmas song). We don't do that part. After Christmas Day, we do one more celebration with family and do a gift exchange, and then it's New Year's and back to school!
5 comments:
Coal? It isn't coal it is a stick! Brought by Knecht Ruprecht! Coal, that is the American tradition from Santa Claus. Silly sistol!
By the way, what is up with the tradition of the German Pickle? I never heard of it, but I see the dorky pickles all over the place listed as a "German Tradition". Can you shed any light on it?
I have a pickle from Germany. Got it from someone in Lee's family. I have no clue what part of Germany that tradition is from, but you're supposed to "hide" the pickle somewhere on the tree, and the first person who sees the pickle gets something (to open up presents first?). I'd have to read the paper that came with it.
I apologize for the coal vs. stick. You're right. It's supposed to be a stick.
A "hide the pickle" tradition sounds like it would come from someplace like France or Italy rather than Germany. I guess that's just my dirty mind at work applying sterotypes.
ok, ewww.
Post a Comment