The celebration of the most beautiful holidays undoubtedly includes traditions without which we could not even imagine them. Without them, perhaps Christmas would not even be Christmas. The cradle of origin of many of these customs and customs is Germany, where we also provide work for our caregiver. Which Christmas traditions come from the land of football, beer and yodelling?
Advent wreath
The wreath, which we light every Advent Sunday as we look forward to the inexorably approaching Christmas holidays, was created in Hamburg. It was made by the parish priest Johann Henrich Wichern in the first half of the 19th century. century. It was made of wood and took the form of a carousel. However, the candle was lit every day so that the children in the orphanage, for whose sake he invented it, would know how long it would be until Christmas came and they would receive their presents.
Christmas markets
The earliest Christmas markets began to be organised in Dresden in the first half of the 15th century. century, specifically in 1453. They were a source of food and strength in the cold and frosty winter times. Nowadays they are very popular and we can find various products not only with Christmas theme. They are the place where we soak up the true Christmas atmosphere – long before and after Christmas. We can recognize them by their typical elements – varied and bright colours, smells, tastes and carols, which are already playing from afar. The most popular markets take place in Cologne or Nuremberg, for example.
Silent Night
One of the most famous, if not the most truly famous Christmas song, is Silent Night. Composed by Joseph Mor and Franz Xaver Gruber in 1818, it has since been translated into a great many (more than 170) languages and is certainly known almost all over the world and on every continent. The former, the parish priest Mor, is the author of its text and Gruber, who was the organist and composer, created the melody. We owe the creation of the world-famous song to chance. Its creators met in a church in Oberndorf. Mor asked Gruber if he would compose the music for the lyrics he had written two years earlier. He originally planned to play the song on guitar, so he wanted the words to be accompanied by original music.
Christmas tree
Even the tradition of decorating the tree as we know it today dates back to its origin in Germany in the 16th century. century, from where it gradually spread to other countries. Initially, the Christmas tree, which symbolizes prosperity and life, was decorated with apples, nuts, wafers and paper flowers. The craftsmen started decorating in their guild houses. It wasn’t until the reformer Martin Luther introduced the practice of putting lights on it that he was the first to do so. It is said that he was inspired by a winter evening walk, during which he noticed the stars shining in the sky through the branches of conifers. When he brought home the tree at Christmas, he lit candles on it to recreate the magical atmosphere he had experienced.
If you would like to know which dishes dominate Christmas in Germany and other countries, you will find the answer in this blog. Wondering how we – at ATENE – were looking forward to celebrating Christmas? Read the article about our Christmas wanderings.
Did you know this information before or were you surprised by it?
