24. Dezember • Die Bescherung 2

Advent Calendar > 24 December

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As we mentioned in Bescherung 1, the main part of a German Christmas happens on Christmas Eve (am Heiligabend).

Shops and offices close in the early afternoon of the 24th. People go home to get ready for the evening’s festivities. Practices vary from family to family, but usually there is an early Christmas dinner before exchanging gifts. As mentioned in The Secret Christmas Tree, this may be the first time the children have seen the tree. Some families gather during the day to decorate the Tannenbaum. Everyone admires the decorated tree with its real candles (in traditional homes), and then they gather around it in the evening to hand out gifts. The tree may stay up until Epiphany (January 6, Heilige Drei Könige, “holy three kings,” the three Wisemen, the Magi).

In religious families, especially in Catholic regions (Austria, Southern Germany, Cologne, etc.), die Christmette, the Christmas or Midnight Mass, is also an important part of the Christmas Eve celebration. In some homes the Christmas dinner isn’t served until after the Midnight Mass.

Fröhliche Weihnachten!
Merry Christmas!

MORE > A German Christmas - from A to Z (The German Way)
WEB > Heilige Drei Könige (Wikipedia, Deutsch)

BACK > German Advent Calendar

 
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