Martinstag and St. Martin

by | Nov 8, 2017

November 11 and the Legend of St. Martin Martinstag There is a traditional German custom that has a few things in common with Halloween: Martinstag (St. Martin’s Day, Martinsmas). Although they are very different celebrations, the Catholic Martinstag observance on 11...

Christmas Fact 18

by | Dec 16, 2016

German Advent Calendar: Fact of the Day 18. Dezember – Christmas Carols German and Austrian Christmas Carols Almost five centuries after the Protestant Reformation, Germany’s Christians are about evenly divided between Catholics (Katholiken) and Protestants...

Christmas Fact 10

by | Dec 7, 2016

German Advent Calendar: Fact of the Day 10. Dezember – “Weihnachten” The Origin of the German Word for Christmas The English word “Christmas” comes from the combination of Christ + mass, from Old English Cristes maesse (Christ’s Mass). The word Yule...