FESTIVALS & EVENTS

The Tale Of The Christmas Tree

Maryann Taylor

Last updated: Apr 3, 2017

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For most Indians, Christmas involves dropping by the local mall to admire the Christmas Tree and decorations. But there’s much more to the Christmas Tree than the gaudy ones you’ve seen practically everywhere during the season.

christmas-decoration — Nothing spells Christmas better than a beautifully decorated tree

In earlier times, people hung branches and leaves of evergreen trees above their doors and windows to keep evil spirits away, which paved way for the Christmas Tree as we know it today. The tradition of the Christmas Tree originated in Germany and the first Christmas tree ever was set up in 1419, and since then people began bringing decorated trees into their homes.

Things To Do In Germany

christmas-coffee-cakes — Don't forget to enjoy coffee and cake in Germany

Here are a few things to look out for if you happen to be in Germany during Christmas:

Christmas Markets: Germany’s historic markets are great places to soak in the spirit of the season and buy Christmas decorations, gifts, crib figurines and more. Don’t forget to sample traditional Christmas delicacies such as baked apples, marzipan, gingerbread biscuits and mulled wine.
Sampling Stollen: In Germany Christmas is synonymous with Stollen, a rich and delicious fruit cake. The best place to sample Stollen is at a German city called Dresden, where it was invented around 500 years ago.
Coffee and Cake: Germany has a strong tradition of “Kaffe und Kuchen”, which is simply coffee and cake. Home to many traditional and even trendy cafes, Germany is a great place to indulge in this tradition during Christmas time.
Nicholas Day: St. Nicholas is traditionally believed to be the giver of gifts, and St. Nicholas Day is celebrated with gusto across Germany and Europe on December 6 every year. On this day children gather on the streets to wait for Ruprecht (St. Nicholas’s companion) who gives them sweets and gifts.
Christkind: Another Christmas tradition you can enjoy in Germany is the Christkind Parade. The parade is a large colourful carnival in which a young girl (who is supposed to have Christ like qualities), with blonde hair and a crown parades through the crowd distributing gifts among people. Attended by thousands of people and is a must experience when in Germany.

Opening gifts found under the tree is the best part of Christmas

Did You Know?

- The Christmas Tree came into being much before the birth of Christ.
- The first artificial Christmas Tree was made in Germany with dyed goose feathers.
- Around 25-30 million real Christmas Trees are sold in the United States each year.
- The first Christmas tree ever to be decorated was in Riga, Latvia in 1531.
- The annual Rockefeller Centre Christmas Tree tradition in New York began in 1933. This tree is around 1000 feet tall and is decorated with a 550-pound Swarovski crystal star!
- Thomas Edison’s assistant, Edward Johnson came up with the idea of lighting up a Christmas Tree with electric lights in 1882. Before that Christmas Trees used to be illuminated with candles.

Getting There

Lufthansa has daily flights to Frankfurt and Munich from Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai.

Comments

Anurag thakur | on 22 December 2018

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