Hallo zusammen! Daniel here again for this year’s last blog post and as we have reached that time of year again, this article’s going to be based on Weihnachten – Christmas, with emphasis on food. On Thursday, I learned that the 6th December is known as ‘Nikolaustag’ (‘St. Nicholas’ Day’). This is the traditional start of the Christmas celebrations in Germany and, although not a public holiday, is still taken seriously everywhere. Children are left sweets the night before (if they’ve been good!) and I got a bag of chocolates from colleagues at work! By this point in the season, Weihnachtsmärkte (Christmas markets) have already opened up all over Germany from the big cities like Hamburg to the smaller towns like Dülmen and Herford. Some Weihnachtsmärkte even have eine Eislaufbahn – an ice rink!
Traditional German Christmas food and drink can also be found at every Christmas market. In the city of Osnabrück last week, I had eine Feuerzangenbowle, which is like mulled wine with rum-soaked sugar melted into it by setting fire to it from above! Another delicious treat was Berner-Würstel or Käsegriller, which are sausages wrapped in bacon with bits of melted cheese through them. As well as the traditional German food and drink, you can also find some arguably less German foods at the markets, such as Elsässer Flammkuchen, or tarte flambée for the francophones among you, which is kind of like a thin onion and bacon pizza with a crème fraîche base, from the Alsace region of France.
After a couple of weeks of touring multiple Weihnachtsmärkte, I’ve realised that it’s no surprise that Germany is famous for them! They may not be the healthiest place to go, with all the sugary alcohol and bacon-wrapped pork, but there are few better places to spend a wintery evening!
Ich wünsche euch ein frohes Weihnachtsfest und alles Gute zum neuen Jahr!
(I wish you all a merry Christmas(festival) and best wishes for the new year!)
Until next year!
Daniel.
