Christmas Rituals in Germany

In all ways, Advent- and Christmas time is all about getting together, celebrating the last year and bringing light and love in the dark part of the year. Some traditions start as early as summer, p. e. the “Rumtopf”. It’s a pot with an airtight lid, mostly made from clay. Going through the year, starting with strawberries, you layer fruit and cover them with sugar and Rum, the last layer is usually plum, which is the last fruit to be harvested. It is then used for christmas bakeries, like fruit cake or goes with pudding or ice-cream. It was a great way to preserve the fruit in the early days and the alcohol kept people warm and in good spirits in winter.

Also the christstollen used to be prepared as early as late October or November, as with old recipes and ingredients it had to rest for a couple of weeks to develop its full flavors. Even the shape is traditional. You get it in several variations, but the classic one has raisins (rum-raisins) and candied lemons and oranges.
 

On the 24th of December the presents will be brought by the “Christkind” which is actually Jesus as a child. We don’t see it and it requires some creativity by the parents to deliver it properly. We didn’t put up our Christmas tree before the actual chrismals night. Putting it out earlier is a quite recent practice. One of the reasons is that we still usually have fresh cut real trees, that wouldn’t last that long. Children go to Christmas service at the church from 2 - 4 o’clock. That was the time for the parents to set everything up and lock up the living room. Depending on the families, some have some coffee and pastry before, others start as soon as the children arrive, usually with the grandparents or another relative who accompanied them. I will tell you one of my memories, to illustrate the length parents are willing to go and to describe how we do it.

I was about 8 years old and just returned with my sister from church. My mother prepared some cookies and hot chocolate for us. Our dining table was in front of our living room. The door was stained glass, so you could see silhouettes and shades, but not clearly. So all of us (Mother, father and the two of us) were sitting there, enjoying our treats and staring at the black door, when suddenly colorful lights went on and a bell rang. I was in the age, when you start to question the easter bunny, christmas and all that, so I was more than baffled. We jumped up and opened the door - nobody was inside. Only a beautiful tree with electric and real candles and all the presents. It took me years to figure out how they did it: Our neighbor was waiting in the dark living room for the commando. He put on the lights and stepped out on the balcony, closing the door and curtains behind himself. Waiting there until we were in the living room, waiting for us to enter the living room. Then he climbed through our children's bedroom to sneak out behind us. They practiced it several times, so he could open and close all of the doors and windows, without the curtains moving in the wind.

Nowadays there are helpers like plugs with a timer, smartphones and remotes for almost everything. But parents still put a lot of effort into making memories like that. One of my sons in law started making the christmas dinner himself, without help. It must be a goose. It is a labor of work and he fortunately improves from year to year. As I was working till noon on Christmas, it was my daughters job to prepare the Christmas dinner from a pretty young age. They started with 12 + 4 with potato salad from a store and hot sausage up to a 3 course meal later in life. 

My ritual was to always give one game that we played until bedtime or when the kids wanted to meet their friends. We had board game evenings or dance battles with the Wii. 

I am really fortunate to see my daughters having their own children, continuing our rituals and also establishing their own. Using ornaments that were passed to them, some 40 years and older. Watching the same movies we did, baking christmas cookies with them, and crafting decorations. 
 

The days after Christmas are spent with friends and extended family and a lot of playing, eating and drinking, and, of course, long walks.

I love that in the best way the season is all about family, friends, getting together to spread love and light. In the old times, it was the coldest, darkest, and most dangerous time of the year for many people. Heat and food was not for everyone. So those celebrations literally saved lives. We should keep this in mind, as times didn’t change that much for some of us.

So why not keep this in mind and celebrate the season of life. light and getting together to share the light and love we have?

I wish you a Merry Christmas and as much love and light as you can handle!


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You may reach Ellen at : bunteinspirationen@gmail.com on Instagram: ellenberlin1

Bio: Ellen Hofrath-Stovall was born in 1965
She is living in Berlin/Germany
2 Daughters, 3 grandchildren
single
Painting since 2012, self-educated several exhibitions in cafes and restaurants


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**Note from Natalie:  Ellen is someone I discovered on Instagram and immediately we became friends.  I thought what a nice addition to the ezine this would be to have a column for her.
Enjoy her work every month here at Mystic Living Today**