CHRISTMAS IN GERMANY In Germany the period before Christmas is very important. For families, Christmas cookies and Christmas cakes are the traditional customs of the period. The Christmas markets in the centre of each city are a very typical characteristic of this period from the first weekend of December to Christmas Eve. The counters of the Christmas markets have sweets, decorations and red hot mulled wine. On December 6 Sankt Niklaus ( Saint Nicholas ) is celebrated. It is similar to St. Basil’s name day in Greece regarding the custom of exchanging gifts. In the folklore version he brings gifts to good children and spanks children who were not judicious.

The Germans, put candles or electric lights and colorful Christmas figures around the windows. In most homes under the Christmas tree there is the traditional manger (Nativity Scene). Also, there is the custom of the so-called Adventskran. This is a candlestick with four positions, symbolizing the four weeks before Christmas. Every Sunday they put a candle in the candlestick, counting down the time remaining for the coming Christmas.The time before Christmas is very important for the Germans. All families have Christmas cookies ,Plätzchen, Christmas cake ,Christstolle ,and the traditional Advent Calendar with a gift for each day from 1 to 24 of December. These are some of the traditional Christmas customs in Germany.

.Immediately after Christmas we find the custom of the three magicians. From December 27 until January 6, kids who are dressed up as wise men go from house to house and sing. They represent the three magicians who return from Bethlehem. People treat them with candies and nuts, while giving them money for charities. In return, the three wise men write with chalk the initials ( Caspar , Balthazar and Mechior ) and the current year , eg 20 * C + M + B + 08. The graffiti is considered to bring good luck and therefore does not fade, so in some houses we find the signatures of the magicians of the past decades.

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