Archive for December, 2017
Why do Germans call New Year’s Eve ‘Silvester’? Posted by Constanze on Dec 29, 2017
Guten Tag! I hope you all had Frohe Weihnachten (Merry Christmas), that you got to spend time with your Familie (family) and open lots of wonderful Geschenke (presents)! Now there are only a few days left until New Year’s Eve and 2018. If you want to learn about German Christmas and New Year’s customs then…
Heiligabend – Christmas Eve in Germany Posted by Sten on Dec 25, 2017
It is Christmas morning! Frohe Weihnachten (Merry Christmas)! Today is the day that Jesus Christ was born. And it means waking up to presents, because Santa was there, too! But not so in Germany. Kids and adults wake up on December 25 without presents to unwrap. Do they not receive and give presents during Christmas? Oh…
Top 10 German Posts of 2017 Posted by Constanze on Dec 22, 2017
Guten Tag! As 2017 draws to a close, many of you will be reflecting on your past year. Here on the German blog, we like to do the same! Thank you very much for all of your views, likes and comments over this past year. We hope you’ve enjoyed our posts as much as we’ve…
5 Reasons to Visit the German Christmas Markets Posted by Larissa on Dec 19, 2017
Servus! Christmas is less than a week away so to get you in the Christmas spirit I thought I would share the magic of the Christkindlmarkt and why you should visit. Here are five reasons to make you want to jump on a plane to Germany right away (or visit a German themed Christmas market…
A Strange Tradition: Soester Wippen Posted by Sten on Dec 14, 2017
Every country has its traditions, whether that is Krampus, Oktoberfest, Richtfest, or Maibäume. Some regions also have their very own traditions. And one of these, I want to discuss today: The Soester Wippen. Rocking stairs of punishment The Soester Wippe is a rocker with stair steps in the city of Soest. It was used as a means of humiliating punishment from the 14th up…
6 German Language Christmas Songs Posted by Constanze on Dec 13, 2017
Guten Tag! It’s 13. Dezember and almost time to say Frohe Weihnachten. To get into the spirit, today I wanted to share some German Weihnachtslieder (Christmas songs) with you. Not only is it fun for language learners to learn songs in other languages, but songs are actually a brilliant way to improve language proficiency; because…
What’s up with those e’s? The Dehnungs-e Posted by Sten on Dec 12, 2017
Last Friday, we discussed the Dehnungs-h and how it was quite a curious, unnecessary concept in German. Today, we look at the Dehnungs-e, a concept that does pretty much the same thing, but is much less widespread. Other than after an i, it feels strange to many Germans as well. One famous example of such strange application of…