CHRISTMAS IN GERMANY

1.) What is unmistakably German about Christmas?

There are thousands of recipes for gingerbread, special Christmas cakes and pastries all over the German speaking world. But there is none that is as popular and as highly symbolical as „Stollen“ which is a a rich, fruity yeast bread filled with marzipan and topped with a light glacé icing. If you have a number of people staying over the holiday this is wonderfully served warmed through at breakfast. People say that the best Stollen comes from Dresden in Saxony.

The symbolical value of „Stollen“ is that with its white coating it is supposed to resemble the infant Jesus wrapped up in a white piece of linnen. Most people, however, do not know anything about this symbolical meaning. They just eat it because it ist the finest example of German Christmas baking tradition.

This recipe is taken from Delia Smith’s Christmas

Warm the milk, first of all, till you can just still dip your little finger in it.
Then pour it into a glass jug, add 1 teaspoon of the sugar along with the dried yeast and leave it until it forms a frothy head of about 1 inch (2.5 cm).
Meanwhile sift 11 oz (300 g) of the flour together with the salt and remaining sugar into a mixing bowl, and make a well in the centre. Pour the milk and yeast mixture into this, then add the softened butter and beaten egg.
Mix everything together either with your hands or with a wooden spoon – until the mixture is well blended and leaves the side of the bowl cleanly.
Then work in the fruits, peel, nuts and lemon zest, distributing them as evenly as possible. Knead the dough on a work surface for 5 minutes until it is springy and elastic.
Now leave the dough in a warm place, covered with clingfilm, until it has doubled in size (the time this takes can vary depending on the temperature – it could take up to 2 hours). After that turn the risen dough out on to a board floured with the reserved 1 oz (25 g) of flour, and knock the air out of it and knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic.
At this stage roll or press out the dough to an oblong 10 x 8 inches (25 x 20 cm). Using your hands, roll out the marzipan to form a sausage shape and place this along the centre of the dough, finishing just short of the edges.
Fold the dough over the marzipan and carefully place the whole thing on a baking sheet, allowing plenty of room for expansion. Leave it to prove in a warm place until it has doubled in size again, then bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes. Allow it to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before lifting it on to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Meanwhile make the glaze by mixing the sifted icing sugar with the lemon juice, then use a small palette knife to spread this all over the top surface of the stollen (while it is still warm). Serve as fresh as possible, cut into thick slices, with or without butter.

2.) The most famous German Christmas carol

and the English version:

Silent Night

Silent night Holy night
All is calm all is bright
'Round yon virgin Mother and Child
Holy infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace

Silent night, holy night,
Shepherds quake at the sight.
Glories stream from heaven afar,
Heav'nly hosts sing Alleluia;
Christ the Savior is born;
Christ the Savior is born.

Silent night, holy night,
Son of God, love's pure light.
Radiant beams from Thy holy face,
With the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth;
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth.

Of course, it is much nicer and more romatic to compare the original autograph:

It was composed by a village priest in 1818; his name was Gruber. We may imagine that the place – somewhere in Austria – must have looked like that:

3.) Another thing you wanted to know is who brings the Christmas gifts

Well, the obvious answer is that it is Father Christmas´ job. Below you can see a wonderful traditional wood-cut by Moritz von Schwind (19th Century German artist).

But the obvious answer is not always the TRUE one:

While the person on the left is unmistakably Santa Claus or Father Christmas the picture on the right show the  “Christkind”, that is the infant Jesus. Today lots of children address their letter either to “Weihnachtsmann” (Father Christmas) or to “Christkind” (the infant Jesus) as the person who is supposed to bring the gifts.

In Germany this usually happens on Christrmas Eve, when the faint sun has set, when it is dark and silent(SIlENT NIGHT). The reason why we sometimes have got the infant Jesus to replace Father Christmas is that reformator Martin Luther had wanted to put an end to “popish” traditions (which in this case included the famous Bishop of Myrae as the mould after which the figure of Father Christmas was formed). Today we  do no longer care about theological pedantries so much any more and we just want everybody to enjoy Christmas as best as they can !

So let us conclude today with the example of  a traditional German advent calendar. On every evening in December until Christmas Eve one little window is opened. In the old days there were just little colourful pictures behind the windows. You held them against the candle light to see them shine in all their colours.Today most kids are not quite satisfied with pictures amy more. So in many families there are little treats or chocolates behind the pictures of their advent calerdar.

Well, that´s about it for today. If you want to know more about Christmas in Germany look at our blog with its report on Christmas markets and traditions (December 2008) or – if this is not enough – post a question!!