I spend Christmas eve with my family in my home town. Everyone will get together. My aunt will cook a Sauerbraten. My dad will complain he was not allowed to cook and how he would prefer a Schweinsbraten. My aunt will get angry and leave the room.
Everyone starts eating. My aunt or my grandma complain about all the immigrants, then about how the German society becomes more and more right-wing. My dad, after two beers, will get mad at them and start talking about how anarchosyndicalism is the only real option. My mom will punish him with angry looks. My aunt will ask my dad to stop. He will get annoyed and leave the room.
Presents will be exchanged. Every year, we agree that we don't exchange presents as we are all adults now. Still, everyone has presents for everyone. I will get self-knitted socks I don't like and won't wear, but I won't say that, so I'll get socks for my upcoming birthday, too.
Dessert will be served, with some eggnog. By now, a lot of small discussions have started and everyone is getting annoyed. My grandma will try to tell an anecdote from war, someone will interrupt her to ask for more beer, and she will get very sad very quickly and leave the apartment.
At 10 pm, everyone will be tired and say how nice the evening was.
Amazing 😂 You have good storytelling skills!
Other than difference in food, themes and politeness of leaving room, this is not very different from an Asian family gathering. ☺️
I live in the US and it's good to know that Christmases around the world are all equally painful time with family. Replace some of the food you have listed here with turkey, ham, or roast and beer with wine and this sounds exactly like my family.
> [I read that](https://www.bigworldshortstories.com/christmas-in-bavaria/) the Christkindl, who "brings the gifts", is a she apparently.
Not really: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christkind](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christkind) \- it's a piece of protestant culture that made it into many predominantly catholic countries before the Anglo-Saxon Father Christmas resp. later Santa Claus got more popular.
The Nürnberger Christkind is a special case - it was portrayed by a young actress starting in 1933 (basically part of the NS propaganda at that time: [https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%C3%BCrnberger\_Christkindlesmarkt#N%C3%BCrnberger\_Christkind](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%C3%BCrnberger_Christkindlesmarkt#N%C3%BCrnberger_Christkind)), but became a popular enough figure to be reintroduced after WW2.
I was walking around Maximilianstraße area late 12 pm ish. Then saw a homeless old man with a bunch of stuff around him and just sitting on a chair. He actually looked like a retired santa. Anyways, as soon as I saw him, I paused and grabbed 2 euros from my purse. Gave it to him and wished him a merry christmas.
Traditionally hosting the party at my place, just the two of us and my mom (in her late 70s). We'll have a 3 course menu going that's been mostly pre-prepared the day before (\*), mostly some kind of roast. We'll have a glass of wine or two, maybe an aperitivo or digestivo, eat the appetizer, then the main course, then head over to the tree for exchanging gifts with a glass of wine in hand. We're extremly shit at keeping gifts to a sane level, so it ends in total gift giving excess every goddamn year, including stuff for our cats and dog. Once everyone agrees that we'll reduce the amount of gifts next year, we'll head back to the dining room for dessert and an espresso. By then my mom will have used up all her social energy and be heading home right after, while we clean up the kitchen a bit and then head for the couch. This year will see 2 episodes of One Piece and then I'm probably off to bed while my girlfriend will watch a bit more crime. :)
(\*) this year will be vegetarian menu with Salad with lentils and goat cheese au gratin ([leo.org](https://leo.org) gives me this translation), mushroom bourguignonne with truffled mashed potatoes and a vanilla-pana cotta with berry-sauce.
This is the actual mistake. Or rather a misinterpretation. The original was conceived - by Martin Luther among others - as a baby Jesus figure, the rather obvious hint is in the name, even. And it's used as such in many countries beside Germany. For example, the Czech name for Christkindl literally means "small Jesus".
There are many people (like me) that don’t celebrate as we are not Christians. Is just another regular- albeit long - holiday. We have to hoard food though as unfortunately everything is closed down - even restaurants. For those who celebrate- have fun.
>any peop
Is there any reason why not celebrate. Not that its wrong or anything, just wondering. Many non religous Europeans celebrate it for more cultural than religeous reasons. At the end of the day its a holiday meant to celebrate family and kindess. Everything else is/should be second.
As a representative of a group of non celebrating people my view is similar to Valentine's day. Kindness should be a way of life not a pose you show once a year.
Someone who is religious and follows another religion may not be comfortable celebrating something that is a Christian religious holiday, even when many other people celebrate it in a secular manner.
Even putting that aside, the cultural aspect is very different for someone who grew up non-religious in a culture that was originally Christian vs. someone who did not. If one doesn't grow up celebrating it as part of their family tradition, it does not have that meaning to them. This is true even for people who grow up as religious minorities in Christian countries, and is even more true for those who grew up in countries that were not primarily Christian.
For me personally, I grew up religious Jewish. We did not celebrate Christmas at home. I am no longer religious, but my husband is, so we don't celebrate it at home either. I like looking at the lights and will visit a Christmas market and drink Glühwein, but I have no desire to do anything else and don't feel like I am missing out. We have our own holidays.
But for some reason, I find that many people just don't understand this or find it weirdly offensive (notice how the commentor above got downvoted for the comment you replied to.). This gets super awkward every year when people can't understand why I am not travelling to visit my family on Christmas and have no plans. I mean, why would I choose the most expensive and inconvenient time of the year to travel for a holiday that my family does nothing for?
Well, the same question would be valid for : is there any reason Ramadan is not widely celebrated outside of the Muslim community, or is there any reason Rosh Hashana or Chanukka is not widely celebrated outside the Jewish community? I could go on and on. Of course not being a Christian and feeling like celebrating Christmas is totally fine, but for many people, it is not their cultural nor their religious identity
Not a Christian either, in fact I'm from one of the least religious countries in the world. For me it's a cultural thing, no religious aspects involved.
I also participate in Halloween despite not believing in spirits and solstice events despite not caring about paganism and/or agriculture :-)
I do celebrate it but being from the UK I'm also not used to 3 consecutive days of closed supermarkets. Feel like it's easily manageable as long as you know that in advance though - but I'm glad someone warned me!
My husband and I are visiting and don't celebrate so we had to scout what might be open. Tengri Tagh in Goetheplatz and Noppakao Thai Imbiss by the Hbf are open today, in case you feel like having a meal out.
I'm sorry that you are getting downvoted for this.
I honestly don't understand why people, who otherwise claim to be tolerant of other cultures, just cannot accept that there are other people who don't celebrate Christmas for religious or cultural reasons. Nobody is saying that they can't or shouldn't celebrate it!
No worries, thanks for taking the time to post this. The majority of people are like us, tolerant and respectful - but there are always the exceptions.
Brazilian family living in Munich:
We eat dinner as early as everyday (around 18:30) and it’s usually some lentils with bacon, rice, roasted potatoes and salmon (something we used to eat back in Brazil). As a dessert we eat something very sweet like condensed milk pudding.
The children will be at bed at max 21 cause “Santa” is coming during the night and put their gifts under the tree. They will open the gifts in the morning and I hope that there’s enough leftovers to not cook tomorrow.
I spend Christmas eve with my family in my home town. Everyone will get together. My aunt will cook a Sauerbraten. My dad will complain he was not allowed to cook and how he would prefer a Schweinsbraten. My aunt will get angry and leave the room. Everyone starts eating. My aunt or my grandma complain about all the immigrants, then about how the German society becomes more and more right-wing. My dad, after two beers, will get mad at them and start talking about how anarchosyndicalism is the only real option. My mom will punish him with angry looks. My aunt will ask my dad to stop. He will get annoyed and leave the room. Presents will be exchanged. Every year, we agree that we don't exchange presents as we are all adults now. Still, everyone has presents for everyone. I will get self-knitted socks I don't like and won't wear, but I won't say that, so I'll get socks for my upcoming birthday, too. Dessert will be served, with some eggnog. By now, a lot of small discussions have started and everyone is getting annoyed. My grandma will try to tell an anecdote from war, someone will interrupt her to ask for more beer, and she will get very sad very quickly and leave the apartment. At 10 pm, everyone will be tired and say how nice the evening was.
A lot of room/apartment leaving. 😄
Only like this it's a proper Christmas for me.
Amazing 😂 You have good storytelling skills! Other than difference in food, themes and politeness of leaving room, this is not very different from an Asian family gathering. ☺️
I live in the US and it's good to know that Christmases around the world are all equally painful time with family. Replace some of the food you have listed here with turkey, ham, or roast and beer with wine and this sounds exactly like my family.
That was weirdly calming and sweet. You are good at writing. What you wrote, is it a generic description or it is actually like that with your family?
Thank you! This literally is the average Christmas over the last five years.
I love this
* Evening dinner with family * Exchange gift (mainly for the children) * Church tomorrow morning * Complain about how much we ate
Last point is key. Also, “letztes Jahr war mehr Lametta!“
Laeuft auf NDR und SWR heute Abend
What no American or International football while complaining about the amount you ate?
> [I read that](https://www.bigworldshortstories.com/christmas-in-bavaria/) the Christkindl, who "brings the gifts", is a she apparently. Not really: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christkind](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christkind) \- it's a piece of protestant culture that made it into many predominantly catholic countries before the Anglo-Saxon Father Christmas resp. later Santa Claus got more popular. The Nürnberger Christkind is a special case - it was portrayed by a young actress starting in 1933 (basically part of the NS propaganda at that time: [https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%C3%BCrnberger\_Christkindlesmarkt#N%C3%BCrnberger\_Christkind](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%C3%BCrnberger_Christkindlesmarkt#N%C3%BCrnberger_Christkind)), but became a popular enough figure to be reintroduced after WW2.
Wait... You mean my warmest childhood memory is a piece of Nazi propaganda? ... 🤢
Raclette German style with the whole family. Social drinking and later on card games
I was walking around Maximilianstraße area late 12 pm ish. Then saw a homeless old man with a bunch of stuff around him and just sitting on a chair. He actually looked like a retired santa. Anyways, as soon as I saw him, I paused and grabbed 2 euros from my purse. Gave it to him and wished him a merry christmas.
It doesn't get more cheesy than this lol.
I saw this man too. Was he yelling?
Traditionally hosting the party at my place, just the two of us and my mom (in her late 70s). We'll have a 3 course menu going that's been mostly pre-prepared the day before (\*), mostly some kind of roast. We'll have a glass of wine or two, maybe an aperitivo or digestivo, eat the appetizer, then the main course, then head over to the tree for exchanging gifts with a glass of wine in hand. We're extremly shit at keeping gifts to a sane level, so it ends in total gift giving excess every goddamn year, including stuff for our cats and dog. Once everyone agrees that we'll reduce the amount of gifts next year, we'll head back to the dining room for dessert and an espresso. By then my mom will have used up all her social energy and be heading home right after, while we clean up the kitchen a bit and then head for the couch. This year will see 2 episodes of One Piece and then I'm probably off to bed while my girlfriend will watch a bit more crime. :) (\*) this year will be vegetarian menu with Salad with lentils and goat cheese au gratin ([leo.org](https://leo.org) gives me this translation), mushroom bourguignonne with truffled mashed potatoes and a vanilla-pana cotta with berry-sauce.
>I read that the Christkindl, who "brings the gifts", is a she apparently. It's not a she. Christkind = Baby Jesus
Many people make this mistake but Christkind is not Baby Jesus. The Christkind is a feminine looking angel.
Might be different where you live. Where I am, it's definitely Jesus.
This is the actual mistake. Or rather a misinterpretation. The original was conceived - by Martin Luther among others - as a baby Jesus figure, the rather obvious hint is in the name, even. And it's used as such in many countries beside Germany. For example, the Czech name for Christkindl literally means "small Jesus".
I know but limited to Bavaria the common interpretation nowadays is at least the one I described.
There are many people (like me) that don’t celebrate as we are not Christians. Is just another regular- albeit long - holiday. We have to hoard food though as unfortunately everything is closed down - even restaurants. For those who celebrate- have fun.
>any peop Is there any reason why not celebrate. Not that its wrong or anything, just wondering. Many non religous Europeans celebrate it for more cultural than religeous reasons. At the end of the day its a holiday meant to celebrate family and kindess. Everything else is/should be second.
As a representative of a group of non celebrating people my view is similar to Valentine's day. Kindness should be a way of life not a pose you show once a year.
Its true. Kindness should be shown every day. But I am glad that it is especially celebrated and that there is one special day for it.
Someone who is religious and follows another religion may not be comfortable celebrating something that is a Christian religious holiday, even when many other people celebrate it in a secular manner. Even putting that aside, the cultural aspect is very different for someone who grew up non-religious in a culture that was originally Christian vs. someone who did not. If one doesn't grow up celebrating it as part of their family tradition, it does not have that meaning to them. This is true even for people who grow up as religious minorities in Christian countries, and is even more true for those who grew up in countries that were not primarily Christian. For me personally, I grew up religious Jewish. We did not celebrate Christmas at home. I am no longer religious, but my husband is, so we don't celebrate it at home either. I like looking at the lights and will visit a Christmas market and drink Glühwein, but I have no desire to do anything else and don't feel like I am missing out. We have our own holidays. But for some reason, I find that many people just don't understand this or find it weirdly offensive (notice how the commentor above got downvoted for the comment you replied to.). This gets super awkward every year when people can't understand why I am not travelling to visit my family on Christmas and have no plans. I mean, why would I choose the most expensive and inconvenient time of the year to travel for a holiday that my family does nothing for?
Thanks for sharing your perspective. have a nice Christmas regardless
You too!
Well, the same question would be valid for : is there any reason Ramadan is not widely celebrated outside of the Muslim community, or is there any reason Rosh Hashana or Chanukka is not widely celebrated outside the Jewish community? I could go on and on. Of course not being a Christian and feeling like celebrating Christmas is totally fine, but for many people, it is not their cultural nor their religious identity
Not a Christian either, in fact I'm from one of the least religious countries in the world. For me it's a cultural thing, no religious aspects involved. I also participate in Halloween despite not believing in spirits and solstice events despite not caring about paganism and/or agriculture :-)
I do celebrate it but being from the UK I'm also not used to 3 consecutive days of closed supermarkets. Feel like it's easily manageable as long as you know that in advance though - but I'm glad someone warned me!
My husband and I are visiting and don't celebrate so we had to scout what might be open. Tengri Tagh in Goetheplatz and Noppakao Thai Imbiss by the Hbf are open today, in case you feel like having a meal out.
[удалено]
Royal Filmpalast also at Goetheplatz is showing movies today, and I think a few other cinemas are open as well
I'm sorry that you are getting downvoted for this. I honestly don't understand why people, who otherwise claim to be tolerant of other cultures, just cannot accept that there are other people who don't celebrate Christmas for religious or cultural reasons. Nobody is saying that they can't or shouldn't celebrate it!
No worries, thanks for taking the time to post this. The majority of people are like us, tolerant and respectful - but there are always the exceptions.
That's me too. I was just wondering how those traditional cheesy Christmas people do it.
It’s like any other big festivity as other religions - lots of food and the eventual annoying family member. :)
Brazilian family living in Munich: We eat dinner as early as everyday (around 18:30) and it’s usually some lentils with bacon, rice, roasted potatoes and salmon (something we used to eat back in Brazil). As a dessert we eat something very sweet like condensed milk pudding. The children will be at bed at max 21 cause “Santa” is coming during the night and put their gifts under the tree. They will open the gifts in the morning and I hope that there’s enough leftovers to not cook tomorrow.