Christmas in Germany Based on decoration and food

Christmas in Germany Based on decoration and food By Bryony Floyd

Christmas celebrations comes early �I found out that in Germany you start celebrating Christmas on the 6 th December. �People often set aside evenings to make cookies and spiced cakes, gifts and decorations. �Fruit shaped in to little dolls are traditional Christmas toys.

How they decorate �Often they have an 'Adventskranz' - a wreath of leaves with four candles. �On each Sunday of Advent (Advent - meaning 'coming' - is the 4 week period before Christmas)another candle is lit.

Decorating �Many houses will have little wooden frames holding electric candles in their windows, and coloured pictures of paper or plastic which look beautiful from the outside at night.

The Tree! �The Christmas tree is a gift from the German countries. Originally, the wreath was the only decoration until Christmas Eve. �On the night before Christmas, the German mother would trim the tree, using lighted candles. When the tree was ready, she signalled her family by ringing a bell. The family gathered around the tree to exchanges presents, then continued on to Mass.

What do they eat? �Goose is the traditional German Christmas dish. Frequently it is stuffed with a mixture of apples and prunes. �And, of course, there is the wonderful invention that is called Stollen, as well as many other German baked goods. Christmas is baking time the world around.

Stollen! �Stollen is a German fruitcake that has been served during the Christmas season for centuries. � The official Stollen is made in Dresden, Germany where it is licensed to only 150 bakers in the city. �The myth surrounding Stollen is that it was originally baked to represent the baby Jesus in swaddling clothes and called Striezel.

�Thank you For Listening