{"id":11208,"date":"2019-11-14T11:00:06","date_gmt":"2019-11-14T11:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/?p=11208"},"modified":"2019-11-18T16:49:41","modified_gmt":"2019-11-18T16:49:41","slug":"how-germans-trick-or-treat-quite-differently","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/how-germans-trick-or-treat-quite-differently\/","title":{"rendered":"How Germans Trick Or Treat Quite Differently"},"content":{"rendered":"

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 T\u00fcr <\/em>(door), young, high Stimmen <\/em>(voices) began to sing, and we looked at each other in horror – we forgot the S\u00fc\u00dfigkeiten<\/em> (candy)! What’s going on here? Let me tell you.<\/p>\n

German Trick or Treat<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Me and some other kids participating in Laternelaufen<\/em> in 1999. I’m in the front with the Marienk\u00e4ferkostum<\/em> (ladybug costume) (Image by author).<\/p><\/div>\n

Every year on November 10,\u00a0Kinder <\/em>(children) go from T\u00fcr zu T\u00fcr <\/em>(door to door) to show off their Laternen <\/em>(lanterns) and singing skills. Sometimes these\u00a0Laternen\u00a0<\/em>are made at the Schule <\/em>(school), a Kirchengruppe\u00a0<\/em>(church group) or simply at home. The\u00a0Laternen\u00a0<\/em>on the picture above, for example, we made with my dad.<\/p>\n

Now, you\u00a0can<\/span> dress up, but that’s not mandatory. The\u00a0Laterne\u00a0<\/em>really is all you need!<\/p>\n

You leave in the evening, sometime after 5 pm, when it’s dark. Usually, you go in groups, and parents come along, particularly with smaller Kinder<\/em>. You can literally go by every single house, even the\u00a0Supermarkt\u00a0<\/em>(supermarket), and they’ll give you something sweet!<\/p>\n

But you have to sing a song for that, more on that later.<\/p>\n

Why do we celebrate this in the first place?<\/p>\n

Sankt Martinstag<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n