Archive for 'Culture'
What are Reichsbürger? Posted by Sten on Dec 22, 2016
There is a bizarre Bewegung (movement) in Germany: The Reichsbürgerbewegung (Reich’s Citizens Movement). They recently came into the spotlight because a Polizist (police officer) was shot. Who are these people? What do they stand for? And what do they want? Let’s find out! What is a Reichsbürger? A Reichsbürger is a German citizen that doesn’t recognize the German state. Some of them believe that…
German Christmas Quiz 2016 Posted by Constanze on Dec 21, 2016
Guten Tag! As it’s my last post before Christmas I thought it’d be fun (educational fun… haha) to get into the Christmas spirit with a German Christmas quiz! Throughout the years the team here on the German blog have written some great articles about Christmas time in Germany. So, first of all, make yourself a…
The German Boogieman Posted by Constanze on Dec 7, 2016
Guten Tag! Today, inspired by a kids’ song I was reminded of recently, the theme is German mythological monsters! The kids’ song is called Es Tanzt Ein Bi-Ba Butzemann. I know this song from my childhood, as many German children probably will. The song is about a Butzemann dancing around in somebody’s house. The first…
Christmas Vocabulary in German Posted by Larissa on Dec 6, 2016
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas… which is why I’ve decided to write a post with useful vocabulary you need to know when talking about Christmas! I’ve included links to other Christmassy posts which you’ll find further down. Weihnachten Christmas der Heiligabend …
Germany’s Youth Word of 2016 Posted by Constanze on Nov 30, 2016
Guten Tag! You may remember last year I wrote about the Wort des Jahres (Word of the Year) and the Unwort des Jahres (Un-word of the Year – an offensive/negative word of the year) for 2014. These are published towards the end of each year by the Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache (GfdS) – the Association…
Zeit für eine Geschichte – Weihnachtsmann-Edition Posted by Sten on Nov 26, 2016
Christmas is coming! And with it comes the Weihnachtsmann (“Christmas Man” – Santa Claus) to Germany. Today, he arrived at the Hauptbahnhof (Central Station) in Leipzig, Germany. Here is a little story of his arrival, plus some vocabulary to train your German, much in the spirit of the Zeit für eine Geschichte series I made last year. Click here for that…
Black Friday – But Not The One You Think Posted by Sten on Nov 25, 2016
Black Friday is known in the United States as a day of ridiculous discounts and jaw-dropping, long lines at stores. This day was exported to other countries as well, including European countries. Mostly online stores offer great discounts here as well. Black Friday is called “black” for the great profits (the “black numbers) companies make…