Seasonal tradition
In the four weeks before Christmas, German homes light an extra candle on the Advent wreath each Sunday, and town squares fill with Weihnachtsmärkte: Christmas markets with wooden stalls, lights, gingerbread and mulled wine.
Photo: Valentin Karisch / Unsplash
The four weeks before Christmas, from late November
Across Germany, from big-city markets in Nuremberg, Dresden and Cologne to small village squares.
Light the Advent wreath, stroll a Christmas market, try Lebkuchen and Stollen and listen to carols.
Frohe Weihnachten!: Merry Christmas!
Advent is the season of waiting and preparation before Christmas in the Christian calendar. One of its best-known symbols, the Advent wreath, comes from Germany. In 1839 Johann Hinrich Wichern, a Lutheran pastor working with young people in need in Hamburg, made a wreath from an old cartwheel with candles to count the days to Christmas. The custom spread among Protestant churches and evolved into the evergreen wreath with four candles known today: one more candle is lit on each Sunday of Advent until all four are burning. Catholics in Germany adopted the custom from the 1920s.
Christmas markets are even older. They grew from late medieval winter markets where people stocked up for the cold season, and became a popular Advent custom from the 16th century. Dresden’s Striezelmarkt, first held in 1434, is one of the oldest.
In many towns, the opening of the Weihnachtsmarkt marks the start of Advent. Wooden stalls sell nativity figures, carved nutcrackers and decorations, alongside Lebkuchen and other gingerbread, roasted almonds, Bratwurst and Glühwein, hot mulled wine. Regional specialities include Stollen, a fruit bread from Saxony. At the opening of Nuremberg’s Christkindlesmarkt, crowds welcome the Christkind, an angel-like figure of the Christmas season. Many families light the candles of their Advent wreath at home on Sundays, and markets often have choirs and music. For many people Advent is a religious season, for others a cosy family time. Customs vary by region and family.
Celebrate Advent at home:
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Markets are busiest in the evenings and at weekends, so visit on a weekday afternoon for a quieter stroll. Larger markets have security measures, so allow extra time. Dress warmly, as temperatures can fall below freezing.
Usually around the start of Advent, in late November, and many run until shortly before Christmas.
An evergreen wreath with four candles. One more candle is lit on each Sunday of Advent.
Lebkuchen, roasted almonds, Bratwurst, Stollen and Glühwein or another hot drink.
