Archive for 'Traditions'
Yiddish: Can You Understand It? Posted by Sten on Apr 23, 2020
Perhaps you have seen the Serie (show) Unorthodox on Netflix. When the first words were spoken, I heard a strange familiarity, yet only recognized certain words. Yiddish is a mix of different languages, with unmistakable German roots. What’s the story of this interesting language? And how is it expressed in Unorthodox? Let’s find out! What is…
German Lucky Charms Posted by Constanze on Mar 23, 2020
Guten Tag! I hope everybody is well. Last time on the blog I talked about the extensive use of the word Schwein (pig) in the German language. If you read that post, you might now be wondering why the word Schwein is used in so many sayings and expressions in Germany. There are two theories…
What’s for Dinner with German Christmas? Posted by Sten on Dec 29, 2019
German Christmas has a lot of interesting traditions. But when it comes to Essen… We are just not that traditional about it, it seems! Where other cultures have traditional Christmas dishes, like the French bûche de Noël or Venezuelan hallacas, the Germans don’t. While we make dozens and dozens of Weihnachtsplätzchen (Christmas cookies) and other sweets to cover the…
The Origin Of The Snow Globe Posted by Constanze on Dec 25, 2019
Frohe Weihnachten (Merry Christmas)! We’ve looked at a huge range of German Christmas traditions on the blog over the years, and if you want to indulge yourself simply click the tag Christmas for them all to come up! In fact, many Christmas traditions as we know them today originated in Germany or Austria. These include…
How Germans Trick Or Treat Quite Differently Posted by Sten on Nov 14, 2019
Last Sunday, I was having dinner with my brothers and sisters. Since winter nears, it was already pitch black outside – and suddenly the doorbell rang. Who’s that? My brother opened the Tür (door), young, high Stimmen (voices) began to sing, and we looked at each other in horror – we forgot the Süßigkeiten (candy)!…
German Sayings + Expressions 26: Geister! Posted by Sten on Oct 31, 2019
Finally, Halloween is here! But do you want to use some ghostly sayings and expressions? Then you’re in the right place! Where I looked at the word Geist last week, we now use it in a Sprichwort (saying) and an Ausdruck (expression). Let’s go! For older posts, please follow this link. Der Geist ist willig, aber das Fleisch ist schwach Literally: The spirit…
Germany’s ‘Free Body Culture’ Posted by Constanze on Oct 9, 2019
Guten Tag! Today the topic is die Nacktheit (nudity) in German culture, which is otherwise known as die Freikörperkultur or FKK – ‘free body culture’. Germany has a fairly relaxed attitude towards nudity and therefore you will see people go nude on beaches and in parks and saunas. There are saunas, for instance, where as…