The traditional Christmas meal features duck, goose, rabbit or a roast. This main dish is accompanied by German delicacies such as apple and sausage stuffing, red cabbage and potato dumplings. Dessert typically includes Christmas Stollen, considered one of the best Christmas pastries in the world!
At the centre of a German Christmas evening spread you'll usually find a roasted goose, turkey or duck, traditionally served with lovely plump bread dumplings – the classic round ones, or one great big festive loaf-shaped one, known as a Serviettenknödel (pictured sliced, above), plus braised red cabbage or stewed kale ...
Whilst there are regional variations in food culture, most German recipes focus heavily on bread, potatoes, and meat, especially pork, as well as plenty of greens such as types of cabbage and kale. Cake, coffee, and beer are all highly popular elements of German cuisine too - which will be good news to most!
With this complete German Christmas menu, choose your festive main dish adventure: Roast goose or beef rouladen. Then load up on the side dishes: braised red cabbage, spaetzle, and potato dumplings — they'll pair perfectly with either choice. And stick around for the Stollen!
The term Weihnachtsmann is a very generic German term for Father Christmas, St. Nicholas, or Santa Claus. The German Weihnachtsmann is a fairly recent Christmas tradition having little if any religious or folkloric background.
Krampus, in central European popular legend, a half-goat, half-demon monster that punishes misbehaving children at Christmastime. He is the devilish companion of St. Nicholas. Krampus is believed to have originated in Germany, and his name derives from the German word Krampen, which means “claw.”
Mulled wine is the main drink at the markets. It's so popular that many of the markets have special decorated cups for the wine. You pay a deposit for them and get it back when you return them or just keep the cup as a souvenir of your visit.
German children are fond of adding other ingredients to their daily milk such as chocolate powder to make Kakao and honey (Honig) to make Honigmilch. Latter tastes especially good when its hot.
Spezi: A popular soft drink in Germany, it's a mix of cola and orange soda. Coca-Cola and Fanta are commonly used to make Spezi but you can also buy premixed drinks such as Mezzo Mix. Orange juice (Orangensaft): Orange juice with or without pulp has become a staple in German breakfast culture.
While 25th December is still a national holiday in Germany, it's celebrated differently to how we do in England. Traditionally, the family will gather around a heartwarming meal, attend church, children will play with their new toys and the white candle of the Advent wreath (the one in the middle) will be lit.
Krampus is thought to come from either Bavarian: krampn, meaning "dead", "rotten", or from the German: kramp/krampen, meaning "claw". The Krampus is considered to be a half-goat, half-demon monster in some legends. Its role is to punish bad children or scare them into being good.
If you think, judging by that white beard and hair, Kris Kringle might be around 70 or 80, the truth is he's far, far older. According to History.com, the monk who over time would evolve into Santa Claus was born in what is now modern-day Turkey in 280 A.D., making him a whopping 1,741 years old!
He is usually drawn covered in black or brown hair and has a dominating presence, towering over humans at 8 or 9 feet tall. Krampus also came to represent the oncoming dark nights and the difficulty of surviving the Alps in the frigid winter.
6 December is Saint Nicholas Day, better known as Nikolaus in Germany. While the day may not receive the full religious celebration it does in Southern Germany and other traditionally Catholic regions, children across Europe look forward to this day each year.
The modern figure of Santa is based on folklore traditions surrounding Saint Nicholas, the English figure of Father Christmas, and the Dutch figure of Sinterklaas.
There's no magical age for this. But the age range of when kids start to ask questions is around 7 to 10 – the average age of when kids figure out Santa isn't real is 8 years old.
Max sincerely apologizes for losing his spirit; although Krampus seems to accept his apology, he still tosses Max in as well. Max awakens in his bed on Christmas morning and discovers his family alive and well downstairs, concluding what happened was just a nightmare.
Unlike Santa Claus and the elves, Krampus is not made of flesh and blood. In fact, he probably eats flesh and blood for breakfast. Rawr! Krampus is known to be a creature of half goat / half demon makeup.
"Krampus" (2015) is sometimes kinda pretty creepy, sometimes a little scary, sometimes a little funny movie that eventually gets boring by trying to be different and by doing that, it quickly becomes very average. It is not a bad movie by any means, but it's just so ... average.
Many German families still decorate their tree in the "altdeutsche Tradition," or the old German way, with real candles and wood and straw ornaments. The tree stays up usually until after New Year's or even until Jan. 6, Three Kings Day.
