Member-only story
How Christmas Is Celebrated in Germany
A Story From Times Before COVID
This year, everything is different. Germany is in a hard lockdown with extreme contact restrictions. Christmas markets were not allowed to open, local retailers had to close two weeks before Christmas. Daily case numbers are rising dramatically, hospitals are at capacity limits.
That’s why I want to look back and tell you what the time before and during Christmas is like in Germany under normal circumstances. You will quickly notice that there are many similarities but also some differences to the American version.
It all starts 4 weekends before the actual Christmas holidays. Christmas markets open everywhere. There you can buy delicious food for direct consumption, drink mulled wine or buy nice little things to give away. For children there are merry-go-rounds, children’s trains, gingerbread and cotton candy.
This period is also called Advent and each of the 4 Sundays before Christmas is a so-called Advent Sunday. Special pre-Christmas services are held in Protestant and Catholic churches. During this time, the children practice diligently for the Grippenspiel, which is performed at the Christmas Eve service. It tells about the birth of Christ.
It is also customary to gather with family on these Sundays of Advent and sit…
