Contrarily to many countries, Santa Claus does not bring the presents to German kids. The Christkind (sometimes known affectionately as Christkindl) is traditional German giver of gifts at Christmas and he is normally depicted as an angelic figure with blond hair and wings.If you are a German child, the 24th of December will be very exciting! The Christkind brings children their Geschenke(presents) on December 24th and leaves them underneath the Weihnachtsbaum (Christmas tree). Parents tell their children that the Christkind won’t come if they try to spot him. He is not meant to be seen! Sometimes parents will secretly ring a bell to announce the arrival or departure of the Christkind, after which the children go running to find their presents.
You must be asking yourself why Germans do not celebrate Santa Claus! Here the explanation: Santa Claus originated as a Catholic figure while the Christkind was created by Protestants.
The Christkind was created during the reformation, in 16th and 17th century Europe, when Martin Luther wanted to de-emphasize the previous Catholic celebration of Saint Nicholas on December 6th, and invent a new celebration for the Protestants. This was because he did not want a Catholic saint (St. Nicholas – who we know today as Santa Claus) bringing Protestant children their gifts. Hence, the Christkind was born and would be in charge of bringing gifts on December 24th, the last day of Advent.
As Europe became more secular, the Protestant Christkind and Catholic St. Nicholas began to cross over. St. Nicholas became a secularized version of himself, now known in Germany as der Weihnachtsmann (“The Christmas man”), celebrated regardless of religion. Meanwhile, the Christkind transformed from a suggestion of Baby Jesus into a blonde, female angel.
No comments:
Post a Comment