In Germany Halloween is coming, more and more. Children are demanding “trick or treat” and in the last few years I have sweets at home for them.
In my region, I live in a little town near the former capital “Bonn”, we have the tradition of “Sankt Martin” and kindergarten & schools hold St. Martin’s processions with self-made laterns. So beautiful! And after, each child will get a special kind of sweet bun, called “Weckmann” it looks like a man. And they go from house to house, singing songs about St. Martin and the people reward them with sweets.
I’m from Germany, too We celebrate not only Christmas, but the 4 weeks before. Children get an “Adventskalender”, this is a calendar with sweets and little presents, from the 1st to 24th December. You can buy it with chocolate, open each day a door and get your reward. Some are homemade, filled with sweets or presents. Families count the days and celebrate the 4 sundays before Christmas as “Adventssonntag” and gather for a special “tea time” with special christmas sweets like ginger bread, cookies and fruit or marzipan cakes.
Often families bake those Christmas Cookies together, often they have their own, old and well kept recipes. They decorate the houses and most families have a Christmas Tree.
We celebrate Christmas on 3 days. The Christmas Eve, 24.12. where some families go to church. Usually we have a delicious dinner and the families celebrate together. My family has every year oven-made goose drumsticks with potatoe dumplings and thin sliced red cabbage. We listen to christmas songs and after dinner we give each other presents. I love this peaceful atmosphere with my family.
On the first and second christmas day families celebrate together as well or just enjoy some free time. Traditional christmas dishes are gooses, ducks, turkey, sometimes deer or goar with nice side dishes. Some families keep it simple and enjoy potatoe salad with sausages.
These are homemade gingerbread cookies from last year
I just heard about Black Friday today from my mom in Switzerland, I was laughing hard, why…
Since Im in US it’s all about commercial holidays that involves “shopping” I think it’s not much about tradition itself but tradition “shop till your drop” and eat and drink a lot…
It starts with Valentines’ Day, then Easter, Memorial Day, 4th July, Labor Day, Halloween, Thankgsgiving, Christmas and as last New Year’s Eve. The stores are full of theme colored and occasion selected kitchen gadgets/paper plates, table ware, napkins, table cloths candles… cards, deco and Special Sale for all kinds of products and even cars. Weeks before Halloween night I see X-Mas deco in stores…
Now Thanksgiving is one the most important push to meet sales budget… all stores compete for the best products and discounts, Black Friday, people used to line up 5 am in front of BestBuy an electronic store… not sure if they still do that… anyway then comes Monday which is Cyber Monday special sale for electronics, smart phones, don’t we need another new one
It seems these sales practice has been transferred to European Markets as well; business thrives when people buy stuff… but where the old stuff ends that is not so much discussed… Several years or a decade ago the Halloween custom has been transferred to Europe too…
Thanksgiving has many origins or roots, it began as a day of giving thanks for the blessing of the harvest, it is also connected to religious traditions in November, it is celebrated in various countries: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving
I think I still like the Christmas traditions of Christmas carols, the smell of a pine tree, candles, clementines and many varieties of Christmas cookies (home baked). It starts with the Advent wreath lightning each Sunday a candle.
I like going to Christmas Mass, more for the choral singing, music and singing Christmas carols, not so much what they talk about. When going to church I have time to just sit and think, it’s kinda peaceful.
I think when you have children it’s more fun to celebrate Christmas as you get older the value of putting time of decorating house and tree somehow fades away. - Fondest tradition is baking cookies with family, sometimes past midnight and retelling stories while drinking wine or schnaps
Wishing everyone a blessed holiday season http://www.slovakcooking.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/xmas-cookies1-300x225.jpg http://img.radio.cz/pictures/vanoce/vanocka2.jpg
@sim11 talking about Black Friday this was the best deal in years! they had a 55 inch smart TV for $298 since my car is small, I couldn’t buy it (a cab would cost about $150) I didn’t really need the TV i already have one but that was such an awesome deal. At least, I got me a Laptop since this one was falling in pieces lol I drop them a lot (I’m too clumsy) I bought a digital sewing machine for only $89 dollars! A christmas (6 feet) three Original $50 dollars for $15.
Since I had rewards points, the christmas tree was free. My daughter who is feeling so much better, decorated the tree mostly by herself while i cooked dinner. this black friday was not chaotic, but pretty relaxing, ppl were nice and we chat as we waited in line to get in the store. I’m looking forward to Cyber Monday for my christmas gifts shopping. Let’s see if it turns out great too. Wish me luck!
I know you can find great deals if you know what you need… sometimes good deals makes you want to buy it just because it’s a good price, but does one really need it… I need a new laptop as well my 2012 acer screen is just hanging on one hinge the other broke I used tape but even that isn’t sticking to the narrow plastic screen surround
and using external keyboard since the acer chicklets just come off so easily… had I known… (also TG deal then) I won’t get a refurbished!
Good luck finding your deal!! I’m happy to hear your daughter is doing better
Btw noticed how some screens have a really bad resolution on the letters, I can see the screen lines(they are cost saving screens), some are better like the iphone crispy graphic you can’t see that on a picture when you shop… I have to go back to walmart I saw only 1 dell and 1 hp with the great graphic and Im no fan of W10
That’s where I got my HP (Walmart bc Bestbuy had not one) My daughter was the one who picked the laptop so i’m confident is a good one (this is the first time buying a laptop there)… I know nothing about laptops/electronics so they make all the decisions (either my son or my daughter I mean) lol
What are the odds? My laptop is hanging by the hinge too! I haven’t opened the new one yet bc I’m doing my christmas decoration in my apartment. I’m so happy my daughter is doing so much better I have the energy to look forward to this christmas.
Thanks for all the good wishes. I hope you find what you want CYBER MONDAY it’s a great day to save too. Make sure a second after midnight tonight Sunday, you are looking for the bargains for great products! The best of luck…
We celebrate Christmas in Sweden it´s on 24/12 not like in the USA that I have lernt from teve celebrates it on 25/12. Strangely many in Sweden watch “Donal duck and his friends wish you all a merry christmas” (always at the same time 15:00) it´s an old tradition that goes back from 1959. I don´t watch it and honestly don´t tell people that I don´t as that would sound strange as almost everyone does it.
this year I got ME something for christmas, I subdcribed to Ancestry.com, for the world explorer one, yeah a bit more than I spend on the USA one, but now I can go worldwide and maybe break down some brick walls I have. so Yes celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas
I also learned something from Iceland as well, really neat
If you post the YT link on the next line the video snippet will show instead of just the link.
You can try it to change it. Go to your post, click on the pencil icon (edit) and put enter after your sentence “singing” and you should see the video snippet.
Since I have to get my treatment tomorrow I kept it light so I made Lasagna with ground turkey meat, garlic bread, and my son wanted pork so I made a small one for him.
Although I received bad news from my 24 yr old a biopsy showed another skin cancer and we have to go to Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
BUT…the car that we need so much for all of our appointments, my motor after the 100,000 miles gave up a week ago, and my loyal mechanic put another motor that is running like a baby, and DIDN’T CHARGE ME A PENNY!!!
So this Thanksgiving; I’m so thankful that we still have people out there with a good, loving, caring heart, and they eased our pain since we have a rough road ahead of us.
ABOVE ALL; PRAYING WARRIORS OUT THERE. KEEP US AND EVERYONE IN NEED IN YOUR PRAYERS.
Out of my heart I started singing this few phrases of a song that came into my heart as I was angry and fighting with God.
JESUCRISTO ME SALVÓ
SU SANGRE ME REDIMIÓ
EL SIEMPRE ME AMÓ
FUI YO QUIEN LE FALLÓ
Y AHORA ESTOY AQUÍ
CAMINANDO SUJETADA DE SU MANO DERECHA
ESPERANDO SU PERDÓN.
(Haven’t finished the song since that’s all I got so far. Oddly enough; I mainly speak, pray and sing to GOD in Spanish and rarely in English).
TO ALL THOSE CELEBRATING HAPPY THANKSGIVING! MAY THE FOOD NOURISH AND BLESS EACH AND EVERYONE.
We celebrate not only Christmas, but the 4 weeks before. Children get an “Adventskalender”, this is a calendar with sweets and little presents, from the 1st to 24th December. You can buy it with chocolate, open each day a door and get your reward. Some are homemade, filled with sweets or presents. Families count the days and celebrate the 4 sundays before Christmas as “Adventssonntag” and gather for a special “tea time” with special christmas sweets like ginger bread, cookies and fruit or marzipan cakes.
- Fondest tradition is baking cookies with family, sometimes past midnight and retelling stories while drinking wine or schnaps 
I’m happy to hear your daughter is doing better 
