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Tag Archives: Culture

German Christmas Decor: Der Schwibbogen Posted by on Dec 23, 2020

Guten Tag and Frohe Weihnachten (Merry Christmas)! Today we’re continuing with our festive theme and some of Germany’s December/Christmas traditions. Today’s post is all about the Schwibbogen. Der Schwibbogen A Schwibbogen is a decorative German candle arch, often seen in the windows of German homes around Christmas time. History & meaning of the Schwibbogen The…

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Barbarazweig: A German December Tradition Posted by on Dec 16, 2020

Guten Tag! Today’s post is about a lesser-known German December tradition known as der Barbarazweig. Have you ever seen a cherry blossom branch in a vase in a German home in December? If so, this post will tell you what that’s all about! Der Barbarazweig This word literally means ‘the Barbara branch’. We will come…

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The German Wackeldackel Posted by on Sep 23, 2020

Guten Tag! Today we’re going to look at a toy called the Wackeldackel that you may have seen – you may even have one yourself! What is a Wackeldackel?! The Wackeldackel is the nodding head dog you see in cars. Their heads are on a spring so that each time the car moves quickly or…

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What Cake Can Teach Us About Germany Posted by on Aug 5, 2020

Guten Tag! This is the first in a two-part series on one of my favourite subjects: Cake (der Kuchen in German)- specifically, German cakes with interesting, often place-specific, names. We will look at why those cakes are named the way they are, and learn a little language, culture and history in the process. So, as…

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The German Memorial In Viscardigasse Posted by on Jun 3, 2020

There is a little street in Munich that is home to a subtle memorial with a very powerful history attached to it. In this post I’d like to share with you the memorial in Viscardigasse, Munich, and the meaning behind it. History To understand the memorial that is there today, we must first look at…

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German Lucky Numbers Posted by on May 6, 2020

Guten Tag! Every culture has different ‘lucky numbers’, for different reasons. Today we’ll look at which numbers are considered lucky in Germany, and how this plays out in the German language. In Germany, there are two main numbers that are considered lucky. These are the numbers 4 and 7. One might call these Glückszahlen. The…

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Baby Naming Laws In Germany Posted by on Apr 29, 2020

Guten Tag! Today I thought we’d look at Germany’s baby naming laws. Firstly, what is a naming law? A naming law places restrictions upon what parents can call their children. These differ from country to country, with some countries having more relaxed laws than others. For that reason, I thought it would be interesting to…

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