If you have ever been in Germany at Weihnachten (Christmas), you know it is a magical time. Christmas markets bring people together, the glühwein flows, the smell of Gebrannte Mandeln is everywhere, and Germans are at their jolliest. It is also a Coronavirus...
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traditions
Superstitions in Germany
Since this post is sandwiched between Halloween and a truly terrifying presidential election in the USA, I thought this was the perfect time to go over some German superstitions, or Aberglauben. Every culture has them, but when you aren't raised around them they can...
10 things I find weird and wonderful about Germany
The week between Christmas and the new year beginning is often a 'no man's land'. No one knows what day it is or what to do as normal service is out of sync. It's not helped when you're driving between different locations, unpacking one day and re-packing the next....
A British Weihnachten
For the past three Christmases whilst living in Germany, my partner and I have spent the big day back in the UK. They say Christmas is the time of year for family and friends, and that is where the majority of them are and so that is where we shall go. Except this...
Finding greeting cards in Germany
Valentines cards, anniversary cards, confirmation day cards, get well soon cards. In the UK there seems to be a folded piece of decorated card available to send to a recipient and recognise any and every occasion. The public invests in to whatever the greeting card...
Christmas Means Cookies
For almost a month already, we have been floating in the yearly jolly atmosphere that smells like cinnamon, shines with the twinkle lights and tempts us with delicious food. Germany is famous for its wonderful bread and it’s a very well-deserved reputation, however,...
Guide to German Nutcrackers
I had a nutcracker or two growing up, gaily dressed as soldiers and watching over me as I slept. Once I moved out, my mom pulled them out for the holidays and added a few new friends. Then a few more..til there was a horde of nutcrackers to accompany our tree for the...
Harvesting Germany’s Wild Garlic
Germans and their food obsessions. We are getting deep into Spargel season, but I am still stuck on the last seasonal mania, Bärlauch. Alternatively known as Allium ursinum, ramsons, bear leek, or wild garlic - all of these names meant nothing to me before coming to...
Mahlzeit!
For the first time since we moved to Berlin over five years ago, I am required to go (most days, at least) to an office with lots of German people. Up until a few months ago, I'd either worked from home or from a small co-working space. But now, from behind computer...
Birthday Etiquette
Nothing unsettles a German quite like wishing him or her a Happy Birthday before the actual birthday. The tradition of precision isn't just in engineering appliances or designing public transport. In Germany, birthdays are also measured with exactness. I grew up with...
Eggs on trees – 5 favourite German Easter traditions
I love Easter in Germany. It's full of decorations, rituals and get togethers - almost like a mini Christmas but with better weather promising the arrival of spring. It is a bigger celebration than anything I experienced in the UK. This could be because in my...
Weihnachtsgebäck
Germany at Christmas is divine - any visitor to a Weihnachtsmarkt can tell stories of the booths of crafts, gifts, toys, knitwear, ornaments, junk, treats, Glühwein, Wurst, candles, etc. The air is chilly, the mulled wine is warming, and the festive atmosphere is...
Is Santa Chinese? On the Trail of Santa Claus and der Weihnachtsmann
I've written about it before, but this Christmastide I'm delving a little deeper into the traditions of the season of giving and its central figure: Santa Claus, Weihnachtsmann, Ded Moroz (Grandfather Frost), Père Noël, Sinterklaas, Father Christmas, Babbo Natale,...
Green Sauce
The origins of Frankfurter Grüne Sosse (green sauce) are not entirely clear. It is largely believed that the Romans brought it from the Near East. But the route the recipe followed from Italy to Hessen (where it is today a celebrated local speciality) is disputed....
The Cult of the warmes Mittagessen
I feel like mothers are enslaved here in these provincial parts of southern Germany by what I call the "cult of the warmes Mittagessen" or the cult of the hot lunch. (I'm not even going to try to stretch the truth by saying parents instead of mothers. It's pretty...
German Weddings
Having spent my formative adult years in Germany, I have been to more German weddings than American weddings. There are some striking differences in how each culture approaches the celebration (and paperwork) that accompanies two people committing their lives to each...
Schulkind
I've experienced several "American expat in Germany" rites of passage since I first moved to Germany, which was eight years ago: having a German wedding, learning to drive stick in the Swabian Alps, figuring out what goes in the Gelber Sack, pregnancy, giving birth,...
Incorporating a New Worldview, Into Your Old Life
It’s fairly common to feel like an alien at times, while living in a foreign country. But now, when I come home to Canada for my regular summer visits, I often feel like a bit of an alien here too. In recent conversations with family and friends at home, I am finding...
A bilingual Christmas
“It's the Christmas Man," my two-and-a-half-year-old son cheered, pointing to the large inflatable red-clad figure bobbing in the wind outside a men's clothes shop. In these first unseasonably barmy days of early December, we were yet to talk about the intricacies of...
How being an Expat has made me a better . . . Brit?
A few posts back I wrote about how being an expat has made me a better Canadian. After thinking about it a bit further, I have actually come to realize that being an expat has also made me a better English and Irishwoman. Now I have to admit, I have never been to the...
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