Do people in Germany celebrate christmas?

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Stranger in Ohio

Yes, actually Christmas originated in Germany. I don't know all the details of it, but I am quite postive. so i would say definitely yes, as long as they are of a certain religion.

Queen Bee

its like america. there are different religions. if you are christian, then yes.

Fenris Troll Ripper JPA RT ATL Â®

JA!!! Or YES!!!

They are the first to create the Christmas tree, we would not be using them today if it were not for German customs, they used to decorate trees and that is how it migrated to the USA with German immigrants.

I have been in Germany for Christmas twice so far in my life and I had a wonderful time. the OUTSIDE Christmas Markts or Christmas Markets are like going to Oktoberfest in the winter except in many places you can get this special christmas wine that is really warm served to you and you stand under a large tent and drink it with your friends.

I had such a wonderful time there over Christmas even though it was bitter cold!

SO YES Germans celebrate Christmas it is called in German

Weinacht! SO you say Froehe Weinacht and that means Merry Christmas!! Sorry my keyboard is not set up to type in german so the grammar is not perfect but you get my point i hope.

So Ich hoffe Sie haben eine froehe Weinacht und ein gut Neu Jahr auch!

I hope you understood that.

Sara For Life

If They're Christian I bet They do.

*Edit: 65% of Germany is christian, so yes, they probably do.

Obama is a socialist

Yes a very big holiday there.

monique2233

yes i lived there for 4 years

Bob

Santa Clause is very German, if thats what you meant by Christmas. If you meant the Nativity, then it depends on religion I'd say.

Here's an expert from Wikipedia:

"Prior to the Germanic peoples' Christianization, Germanic folklore contained stories about the god Odin (Wodan), who would each year, at Yule, have a great hunting party accompanied by his fellow gods and the fallen warriors residing in his realm. Children would place their boots, filled with carrots, straw or sugar, near the chimney for Odin's flying horse, Sleipnir, to eat. Odin would then reward those children for their kindness by replacing Sleipnir's food with gifts or candy [Siefker, chap. 9, esp. 171-173]. This practice survived in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands after the adoption of Christianity and became associated with Saint Nicholas.

Children still place their straw filled shoes at the chimney every winter night, and Saint Nicholas rewards them with candy and gifts. Odin's appearance was often similar to that of Saint Nicholas, being depicted as an old, mysterious man with a beard. This practice in turn came to America via the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam prior to the British seizure in the 17th century, and evolved into the hanging of socks or stockings at the fireplace. In many regions of Austria and former Austro-Hungarian Italy (Friuli, city of Trieste) children are given sweets and gift Saint Nicholas's Day (San NiccolÃ² in Italian), in accordance with the Catholic calendar, December the 6th.

An early folk tale, originating among the Germanic tribes, tells of a holy man (sometimes Saint Nicholas), and a demon (sometimes the Devil, Krampus, or a troll). Young men dressed as Krampus are still involved in the celebration of Saint Nicholas's Day in KÃ¤rnten (southern Austria) and Carnia (northeastern Italy). The story states that the land was terrorized by a monster who at night would slither down the chimneys and slaughter children (disembowelling them or stuffing them up the flue, or keeping them in a sack to eat later). The holy man sought out the demon, and tricked it with blessed or magical shackles (in some versions the same shackles that imprisoned Christ prior to the crucifixion, in other versions the shackles were those used to hold St. Peter or Paul of Tarsus); the demon was trapped and forced to obey the saint's orders. The saint ordered him to go to each house and make amends, by delivering gifts to the children. Depending on the version, the saint either made the demon fulfill this task every year, or the demon was so disgusted by the act of good will that it chose to be sent back to Hell.

Yet other versions have the demon reform under the saint's orders, and go on to recruit other elves and imps into helping him, thus becoming Santa Claus. Another form of the above tale in Germany is of the Pelznickel or Belsnickle ("Furry Nicholas") who visited naughty children in their sleep. The name originated from the fact that the person appeared to be a huge beast since he was covered from head to toe in furs."

cireengineering

The Christian ones do.

it depends on their religion. just like it does here. it's not a country-wide decision.

Jackie

They sure do.

You really need to read this story of the "Christmas Truce of 1914" Where the germans were fighting the americans during wwI and stopped on Christmas eve with the act being the germans idea They hung out, drank, ate and exchanged stories together. They really respected eachother it was really confusing for them because they were both told the other was evil and that's why they were fighting. nice reminder to always judge for yourself.

http://europeanhistory.about.com/library/bldyk12.htm

kebvee

are you serious? try the Nuremberg Christmas market if you have any doubts...

what I love is the Adventskalender, a countdown to Xmas where you get a little present everyday! my mom made us a calendar in red felt and white trimming, and every morning of the month of December there was a surprise under the tree!!!

or try the stollen, a cake made with marzipan in the middle, mmmm...or pfeffernusse, or lebkuchen, little spicy cookies that are fabulous!

the song "O Tannenbaum" translated into "Oh Christmas Tree" is originally German.

also, St Nick originated in Europe. check the link and search for the goodies i just mentioned.

happy holidays!

starcloud.2007

Yes, we do.
And we do it different from the Americans because we celebrate it more festively.
The Americans make a big party out of it - we don't.
We celebrate what it really is and with less trashy electrical stuff around the house.

Dominique

yeah, most countries in the world do.

thamain

It depends on what their religion is. If they are Jehovah witnesses, No!

Elke

Oh, no. We celebrate the 20th of April......
What a RIDICULOUS question!!!

the3rdtom

Yes. In fact, some Germans say Santa comes from Germany.

Mara

No we havent- when all people make Chrismas we work and wonder why the hell they are make an celebration.
;-)
No, we make Chrismas. kids get the present at the eve of the 24th dec and then the family gather together and eat good food.
the 25th is called the first and the 26 th the second Chrismas day. on this days are all of the shops closed and people use it, to meet friends and relatives.

ArcataGirl

If they are Christian yes. If they are not Christian - possibly.

Christmas is the celebration of Jesus's birth.

nix

Most of them do but not the same way we do.

LadySwift

yes, the Christians do. We go to church at 6pm on the 24th and after that we open presents. the 25th and 26th are christmas holidays and thats when we go visit the family ...grandma and grandpa and so on...at leased thats what i grew up on...

The baby penguin

what a stupid question

Edit @ Alwin: maybe the catholics have the Christkind, we have the Weihnachtsmann (basically the same as Santa Claus).
Oh and by the way, not only the Christians have christmas, I'm not christian but we celebrate christmas.

fliege52000

Yes they do. Dec.24 is the Christmas eve, and people open the presents, 25. is the first Christmas Holiday and 26 is the second.

t_maia2000

YES, Germans celebrate Christmas.

Just like the USA and the rest of Europe Germany is a pre-dominantly Christian country. While observance of Christian religion has dropped significantly in the last 100 years almost all Germans continue to celebrate Christmas out of tradition.

Christmas is a major national holiday, on Dec 25th and 26th all shops are closed and on Dec 24th people either work up until noon or take the whole day off. The main difference between Christmas in the USA and in Germany is that Germans celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve, not on Dec 25th. So there is no waking up to presents on Christmas Day, the kids already got their presents from the Weihnachtsmann (ie Santa Claus) the evening before.

Alwin E

Sure we do, but with a slight difference. There is no "Santa Claus"; there is the "Christkind" (actually "Baby Jesus") who brings the gifts on Dec 24th in the evening. Those who are catholic visit the christmas mass ("Christmette") on that day; those who aren't simply stay at home. Dec25th and 26th are public holidays, traditionally used to visit and meet all your relatives whom you haven't met for a while. Usually, you make some arrangements beforehand. Dec24th is considered a fasting day (in rememberance of Christ's birth in a manger under poor circumstances), but there's big feasting on the next two days. Not to mention the almost obligatory christmas tree in every home. I'm an ex-catholic non-believer, but still I like the tradition, and I have a light in my window during these dark days. Nothing religious; just a light. Maybe it helps other people feel good when they see it.

---
P.S.:
Santa Claus is NOT German; from all I've heard, the Santa Claus figure is of Dutch origin (i.e. from the Netherlands). I should look it up, but I'm too lazy now. www.snopes.com has something to tell about it; check out their "Coca Cola legends" part. A German urban legend reads that Santa Claus was invented by Coca Cola, which also is untrue. We have "Sankt Nikolaus", who brings small gifts for the children on Dec6th (although this tradition is about to vanish), but that has nothing to do with Santa Claus. And we also have the "Heilige Drei KÃ¶nige" ("the three holy kings"), who walk through the neighborhood and collect gifts for the church and sweets (they are three kids disguised as Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar) on Jan6th. But Santa is something different.

DeSaxe

Yes
Germany being a Christan country celebrates Christmas, the 25th and 26th are official holidays, so do not plan on doing any shopping those days.

Depending upon the religion celebration normally begin on the 1st Advent. The fourth Sunday before Christmas. Nickolaus day is the 12th celebrating St. Nickolaus where children get presents. Then on the evening of the 24th the Christ Child gives presents. This varies somewhat depending upon where you are in Germany if you are in a Catholic or Protestant region.

froh Weihnachten

DeeDee

not me.... i'm atheist

tangerine

most of them do. they have xmas markets and xmas shops all year round.

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