German Advent Calendar: Fact of the Day

8. Dezember – Lichterzug der Schulkinder

A key event during the Christkindlesmarkt (Christmas market) in Nürnberg (Nuremberg) is the Lichterzug der Schulkinder (“school children’s light procession”). Each year since 1948, some 1,500 to 2,000 second through fifth-grade students have made their own lanterns (Lampions) for a traditional evening procession that leads from the market square up to Nuremberg’s castle above the city. The annual event is now sponsored by an insurance company, which pays for the materials used to make the lanterns. Nuremberg’s Lichterzug is held each year on the second Thursday in December (Dec. 14, 2017). Once the children reach the top of the hill they watch a live Nativity pageant in front of the Walpurgiskapelle (Walpurgis chapel).

VIDEO: Christkindlesmarkt Nürnberg – Lichterzug zur Burg

WEB > Der Lichterzug – Nürnberg (christkindlesmarkt.de)

VIDEO > Weihnachten (frankenfernsehen.tv) – “Etwas Papier, Holzstäbchen, eine Kerze und kindliche Kreativität. Daraus können wahre Meisterwerke entstehen. Tausende davon ergeben dann den alljährlichen Lichterzug in Nürnberg.” (English: “Some paper, wooden sticks, a candle, and children’s creativity. Out of that a true masterpiece can arise. Thousands of them result in the annual Parade of Lights in Nuremberg.”)

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AT THE GERMAN WAY

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• Silent Night (Stille Nacht) – Our “Silent Night” page has the true story and related links.
• Holidays and Celebrations in Austria, Germany and Switzerland
• Glass Ornaments – a history

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