Christmas Fact 6

by | Dec 4, 2016

German Advent Calendar: Fact of the Day 6. Dezember – Saint Nicholas St. Nicholas (Der Heilige Nikolaus) December 6 (and the evening of December 5) is an important day for German and Austrian children. Saint Nick in Germany and Austria doesn’t come on Christmas...

Christmas Fact 5

by | Dec 4, 2016

German Advent Calendar: Fact of the Day 5. Dezember – Der Adventskranz The Advent wreath tradition is part of the religious observance in preparation for the arrival, or “advent” of the Christ Child. On each of the four Advent Sundays leading up to Christmas a...

Christmas Fact 4

by | Dec 2, 2016

German Advent Calendar: Fact of the Day 4. Dezember – Barbarazweig The Barbara Branch custom on December 4th is an interesting effort to bring forth spring in the midst of winter. Barbarazweig (“Barbara twig” or “Barbara branch”) is based on a legend concerning...

Christmas Fact 2

by | Nov 30, 2016

German Advent Calendar: Fact of the Day 2. Dezember – Der Weihnachtsmarkt Christmas Markets Starting around December 1, but often as early as mid-November, every larger city in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland has at least one Christmas market (Weihnachtsmarkt,...

Goodbye Deutschland!

by | Jul 6, 2016 | Expat issues

When I first came to Germany thirteen years ago, I was a nineteen year old college sophomore on my first trip outside North America. Five years ago, I returned to study for my master’s degree at the University of Siegen. For much of the time since, I’ve...