Now as most of the British Christmas traditions are imported from Deutschland, the Christmas trimmings are similar, just moreso. All houses have their own set of advent candles and the first one was lit to signal the start of advent, which is a thing here, even warranting presents for the kids. Dec 1st was also the day when Christmas decorations all appeared at once. Christmas decorations are generally more tasteful here, although I have spotted at least one house completely decked out in Christmas lights, including Santa and his reindeers.
Sadly, there is little to indicate the real meaning of advent. Even at church there has been no mention of advent beyond the advent candle. I've not even heard any Christmas songs except a german version of jingle bells. Have a midblog bonus video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSsMq6UXXwo
So far not different from England, but then enter St Nikolaus Day...
The 6th of December is St Nikolaus Day and in most of Germany this means St Nick comes and brings the children presents (wahey another excuse for presents!) The present from St Nick that came to Kindergarten was an apple. M carefully carried it home, but then accidentally dropped it down the stairs and proceeded to give the apple a telling off, so cute!
Anyway, in Oberallgaü, this strange bit of Bayern that I currently reside in, takes St Nikolaus Day a little bit further with the Bärbele and Rumpelklausen. Every town/village is slightly different, but here in Altstädten the 4th is Bärbele Tag and the 5th and 6th is for the Rumpelklausen.
The Bärbele are 16+ females who dress up as 'witches' and carry a stick. from ~6pm they gather outside and whack the men below the knees who come across their path. I was initially warned that they were more dangerous than the Rumpelklausen as nothing impeded their running ability, but have since been told that they generally only hit men so I'd have been safe.
Then there's the Rumpelklausen, these are the men who dress up as cows complete with horns and a cowbell, also brandishing sticks. The reasoning behind this strange tradition is to drive out the spirits that arrive with the coming of winter. Or rather it's an evening when the youth of the area are legitimately allowed to be hooligans. It literally has been the only time I've seen groups of youths patrolling the streets after dark!
Bonus Procrastination Bits:
I know papercuts hurt, but when L (7yo) got one he screamed for a good 10 minutes, which was a little excessive. However to add to the trauma, his pain response is to push everyone away, literally in the case of his little brother. So then I had 2 screaming children on either side of me. Luckily L saw the funny side of this and burst into laughter. 2 plasters and a couple of minutes later, peace was restored, until M fell off the sofa....
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One of the girls who I've been helping find a penpal has to do a presentation on England at the end of term. She decided that interviewing me would be a good idea, so we had a fun afternoon putting together a 'interview' film. M and L agree to sit quietly and watch while we film it.
Take 1: I bring out the inflatable globe to point out where Enland is, M comes running in and grabs it shouting 'It's mine! You're not allowed it!'
Take 2: We manage about half the interview before M starts nattering away in the background
At this point, M and L are persuaded to go and play upstairs, and it only took about 7 more takes until it was finished!
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And if you want a good chuckle, here's your bonus video for getting to the end: http://www.godvine.com/What-a-Choir-of-Silent-Monks-Does-Will-Make-You-Laugh-2484.html
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