Christmas Time in Berlin

Frohe Weihnachten! from "Bear-lin"

Christmas in Germany usually brings to mind the Christmas markets, called Weihnachtsmarkt or Christkindlmarkt in the south, that pop up in cities and towns across the German-speaking lands, the most famous being in Nuremberg. These markets resemble a little Christmas village full of stands selling gifts like ornaments, dishware, hats, gloves, and crafts, as well as a variety of food and Glühwein or mulled wine, of course. My favorite variation of Glühwein is Feuerzangenbowle translated literally as "fire-screen-bowl." It is made by dousing a cone of sugar in high-proof rum and igniting it over a bowl of Glühwein, with the molten sugar and rum being slowly stirred into the wine. 


Although many American Christmas traditions come from Germany, there are some distinct differences between the holiday in the two countries. For Americans, Santa Claus and St. Nicholas are synonymous when in fact, this is not true. Santa Claus is an old man with a glandular problem compounded by his poor diet who lives at the North Pole where he runs a sweat shop, and is a Scandinavian myth. St. Nicholas, or Nikolaos of Myra, was a Greek Bishop of the early church known for anonymously giving gifts, particularly in people's shoes, according to legend. In Germany, St. Nicholas Day is on December 6th, when children get little gifts in their shoes, usually chocolate gold coins or a little chocolate statue of St. Nicholas. The two are easily confused because of the beards and the fact that the modern Santa Claus, known as der Weihnachtsmann in German. The tradition of who brings the presents on Christmas Eve varies. It seems most "believe" it is the Christkindl, or "Christ Child", who brings the gifts, others believe der Weihnachtsmann brings the gifts but in a break. A marked difference from the US is that in Germany Santa does not break into your house in the night for the reward of milk, cookies, and carrots for his reindeer. Instead, he comes to the door while one of the male family members is mysteriously gone, asks the children if they've been good or bad, and sometimes asks them to perform a carol for him. He then distributes presents and goes on his way, a few minutes later, uncle Fritz comes back to learn that he just missed der Weihnachtsmann, ach Scheiße!

Also, the timing of Christmas in Germany is different. Traditionally the tree is erected on the 24th and kept up for the Twelve Days of Christmas until January 6th, the original date of Christmas now known as the Epiphany or Three King's Day. Germany is of course home to the advent calender, but advent is also celebrated by progressively burning four candles arranged on a wreath. This exercise becomes increasingly dangerous as the wreath dries out. 

I visited a couple of Christmas markets in Berlin this year. One a Scandinavian themed market at the Kulturbrauerei with Nordic twists on mulled wine and Christmas baked goods. Another is the biggest in Berlin at Alexanderplatz complete with ice-skating rinks and rides. Alexanderplatz was once the parade ground of communist East Berlin and is know one of the major shopping hubs in Berlin flanked by a couple of large malls. The best Christmas market is at Gendarmenmarkt in the city's political and governmental district. It costs one Euro to get in but is more prettily decorated and the quality of the food and crafts is better than at the other markets. It has security guards dressed as 18th century Prussian soldiers and a stage where Christmas-themed programs are performed. While sipping Glühwein I caught an abbreviated performance of "The Nutcracker" put on by a ballet troupe; the poor girls were performing on an outdoor stage in near freezing weather. It reminded me of decorating the tree with my own mother, who would put on the music as she recalled her own years performing in the ballet, but never getting to perform the coveted role of the Arabian dancer. After watching the performance at the Christmas market, I had the music stuck in my head for about 3 days, when I finally drowned it out by humming the theme to "The Great Escape" for an hour.


Well, I am headed off to the airport in an hour and then we will fly to Dublin. Next time I will report on my Christmas in Ireland at the house of Maeve's mother, Marian. Until then, Merry Christmas and thank you for all the support and feedback on the blog! This is a vehicle that makes it much easier to stave off homesickness by keeping in touch with everyone back home.