The holiday season in Germany is rather different from the one I’ve experienced for the past 18 years. There are definitely a few things I miss about Concord this time of year, but a lot of stuff here is new and intriguing, and I’m having a total blast during German Christmastime.
That’s probably one of the biggest differences, that December is Christmastime and not much else. Almost all of Germany is either some type of Christian or not religious at all, so I’ve seen very few advertisements wishing “Happy Holidays” to a perse customer base. The capability and effort of the German media to make December politically correct is surprisingly similar to the capability and effort of a well-meaning engineer to briefly explain a problematic math assignment, or briefly explain anything, for that matter (love you dad).
Nikolaus Day makes up for the absence of Chrismahanukwanzakah in Germany. (It doesn’t really, it’s not that big a deal here. I couldn’t think of a smooth transition, so I just lied.) I awoke on Dec. 6 to candy spilling out of one of my shoes. That’s the whole holiday. Nikolaus comes around and puts candy in your shoes. Whoever Nikolaus is, I feel kind of bad for him. It must break his heart putting such delicious treats into such, let’s say, not-quite-sanitary shoes like my well-broken-in sneakers.
One thing I can’t figure out is how Nikolaus decides which candy to give which kids. The only pattern I was able to uncover was that it seemed to depend on your family. That clue seemed like a dead end, though, so I gave up and just accepted the quandary as one of life’s great mysteries.
My favorite difference that I’ve experienced so far is probably the German Christmas market. Christmas markets are a bit like Midnight Merriment in that a bunch of people walk around bundled up nice and warm, there’s music and everyone is happy. Now imagine that scene with all of the local shops in Concord setting up stands, like during Market Days. Imagine chocolate, decorations, candles, wine, jewelry and pies, all Concord original, being displayed, admired and purchased over a mug of Glühwein (a heated liquor very similar to red wine). The atmosphere is simultaneously excited and content, and the good vibrations of smiling conversations float through the crisp winter air. Go ahead and call me cheesy – because I know I am, and I don’t mind it. I just love these Christmas markets.
German holiday music is actually a lot of the same music I’ve listened to my whole life. Many of the more churchy, choir-ish songs like Silent Night are actually translations of original German texts. On the other hand, traditional Christmas music here lacks the frolicking, light-hearted feel embodied by many American compositions, so they borrow those from us. The two country’s respective originals really capture stereotypes that the two countries have for one another as well, which I find fascinating. The German songs are more serious, deliberate, religious compositions. The most popular American song is all about a driver incapable of controlling the single horse pulling his open sleigh. He’s so busy laughing and singing and being ignorant that he crashes into a snow bank. Way to go, GI Joe!
Another significant change, which I have yet to experience but I know is coming, is the change of the date of Christmas. It takes place here on the evening of the 24th, when a big family dinner is consumed before presents are exchanged and opened. I think I’m really going to miss waking up to the anticipation of Christmas morning and everything that goes with it. I really don’t know how it will feel here, though, so I’m just going to have to wait and see.
One last thing I’d like to add is that there is a special word in German for the idea of giving a gift, and there isn’t one in English. Sure, you can say you are gifting someone something, but nobody does and it sounds weird. You just say you’re giving them something. I really like that there’s a special word for it in German.
One thing I definitely will miss about Christmas, and winter in general, is the snow in NH. There seems to be enough rain here to transform the Sahara Desert into a rainforest, but it’s probably just because I’m frustrated that the only times it drops below 32 degrees are the days it does not precipitate. I love snow, and I think it’ll be tough to get through a winter without much of it.
Well, that’s about it from my side of the pond. I’ll leave you with a few vocabulariatic essentials for surviving Christmas in Germany, in case you ever have the urge.
Vocabulariatic: Neither English nor German – a Tommy original
Weihnachten: Christmas
Weihnachtsmarkt: Christmas market
Glühwein: Literally, “glowing wine,” heated wine you drink at the Weihnachtsmarkt
Geschenk: Gift
Frohe Feiertage: Happy Holidays
Gift: Poison (No joke! I find that rather interesting.)
Tommy Symmes
Tommy’s a Concord High grad spending a gap year in Germany. He’s agreed to write for us while he’s abroad so that we can all live vicariously through him. Thanks, Tommy!
