Glass Christmas Ornaments

Glass Ornaments and Tinsel Glaskugeln und Lametta Besides the tree itself, Germany’s contributions to Christmas ornaments include blown glass globes and tinsel. Learn more about both… Blown Glass Tree Ornaments Germany and Austria have contributed many of the...

The Christmas Pickle Ornament

The German Christmas Pickle Tradition: Myth or Reality? German Myths: Die Weihnachtsgurke-Legende The glass Christmas pickle ornament is supposed to be a long tradition in Germany. But does this “old German tradition” really hold up to close scrutiny? Here’s one...

The German Christmas Tree

Christmas Customs: Der Tannenbaum – Der Weihnachtsbaum “O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum, wie treu sind deine Blätter! Du grünst nicht nur zur Sommerzeit, nein auch im Winter, wenn es schneit.” – Text: Ernst Anschütz, Leipzig, 1824, set to a traditional tune. Various...

A-to-Z Guide to Christmas Traditions

A Guide to Christmas Customs in Austria, Germany and Switzerland Whether you live in North America, in German-speaking Europe, or almost anywhere else in the western world, the way Christmas is celebrated has been influenced in large measure by Austria and Germany....

German Christmas Traditions

Christmas Traditions in Austria, Germany, Switzerland Although we often take today’s Christmas celebration customs for granted, most of the so-called “traditional” Christmas practices only date back to the 19th century. Many of these customs originated in Germany and...