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Archive for 'Traditions'

The German Lebkuchenhaus (Gingerbread House) Posted by on Dec 22, 2021

Guten Tag und Frohe Weihnachten (Merry Christmas)! Over the years we’ve made several posts on German Christmas traditions, of which there are many. Today we’re adding one more into the mix and talking about the Lebkuchenhaus – gingerbread house! Made from gingerbread and lavishly decorated with coloured icing and a variety of other Süßigkeiten (sweets)…

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German Christmas Quiz Posted by on Dec 21, 2021

To get you into the Christmas spirit I have prepared a quiz, if you want to brush up on all of the Christmas vocabulary and history beforehand then have a look at these posts here, here, here and here. Let me know in the comments below how you do, viel Glück! True of False Presents…

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The World’s Largest Advent Candle Is In Germany Posted by on Dec 2, 2021

Adventskerzen Advent Calendar Culture Christmas Weihnachten

Advent, advent, die Kerze brennt! (Advent, advent, the candle is burning!) The four Sundays before Christmas are the four days of Advent, anticipating the birth of Christ. To mark these days, each of them gets a candle – the four Adventskerzen (f, advent candles). They can be attached to Adventskränze (m, advent wreaths) and can be found in…

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Weihnachtsgurke: A German Christmas Tradition, Or Not? Posted by on Nov 30, 2021

Guten Tag! Can I say the W word yet? What’s the W word? Weihnachten (Christmas), of course! I love writing blog posts even more at this time of year, because so many aspects of Christmas have a connection with Germany and/or Austria, and reading about them really gets me in the mood for Christmas time!…

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A little Cringe – Germany’s Youth Word 2021 Posted by on Nov 22, 2021

Cringe Jugendwort 2021

A few weeks ago, the German Jugendwort des Jahres (Youth Word of the Year) was chosen. From a field with some strange contestants, one word clearly took the cake! What this word means and how it entered the German language, as well as the hilarious way the Tagesschau dealt with this news, let’s explore. A wide variety…

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The Story Behind A Strange German Greeting: Hummel, Hummel! Posted by on Sep 3, 2021

Hamburg Hans Hummel Märchen Hummel Hummel Mors Mors

If you’ve wandered the streets of Hamburg, you may have heard a weird greeting. One shouts Hummel Hummel!, and the other will answer mors, mors! And they’ll just move on with their day as if nothing happened. What does that greeting mean, and where does it come from? It’s a cute story, and there is quite some…

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Why The German National Anthem Has Only One Stanza Posted by on Jul 1, 2021

German National Anthem

Two days ago, the German Fußballelf (f, national football team) played England in the Wembley Stadium as part of the Euro 2020. Before the game, each team sings their Nationalhymne (f, national anthem). The German one came on, and despite the booing from some disrespectful fans, they sang their Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit. The Dutch subtitles…

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