Elvis Presley had and has many fans in Germany, but his connection to (West) Germany goes deeper: he actually spend a year and a half living there. His military service began in March of 1958 with basic training in the U.S. before being sent to Germany where he was stationed from October 1, 1958 until March 2, 1960. At the time he was 23 years old and was already popular, so when he arrived in Bremerhaven there were many fans waiting for him. His popularity also made it harder to perform some of the duties he had as a GI. Photo of Elvis Presley and a roomful of other young men being sworn i ..read more

The Pfingstrose, also called Päonie (peony), gets its name from its looks (Rosen, roses) and its blooming time (Pfingsten, Pentecost or Whitsun) which is 50 days after Easter. Pfingsten is also called die Ausgießung des heiligen Geistes when the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles and disciples of Jesus. In English, the name of the flower is peony and has no connection to the Christian holiday of Pentecost. 1195798 auf Pixabay JamesDeMers auf Pixabay How the Peony got its Name The names Päonie and peony is derived from the Greek “paionia” which refers to Paeon who was the physician o ..read more

Eisheilige or Ice Saints in Germany are the days from May 11 until May 15 which mark the days when you can still expect ground frost, hence the reference to ice. Those days were important to farmers and many Bauernregeln (farmer’s rules) refer to the Eisheiligen. Generally speaking, you shouldn’t plant before May 15 in order to not risk young plants being killed by frost. Other names for the Ice Saints are Maifröste (May Frosts), Eismänner (Ice Men), and Gestrenge Herren (Strict Gentlemen). But the latter two only apply to St. Pancras, St. Servatius and St. Boniface. It excludes the Ice Sain ..read more

The Thursday before Easter is called Maundy Thursday and in German, it goes by many names but the most used one is probably Gründonnerstag (lit. green Thursday). Others are Hoher Donnerstag, Weißer Donnerstag, or Palmdonnerstag. It is the fifth day of the Karwoche (Holy Week) that started on Palmsonntag (Palm Sunday). It commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus with his disciples.   Leonardo da Vinci: The Last Supper, 1495-98 What Is Green about Gründonnerstag? Why is Maundy Thursday called Gründonnerstag? What is green about it? The short answer is, we don’t know for sure. We do know ..read more

Ernst Litfaß was a German publisher and printer, born on February 11th, 1816 in Berlin. He died in Wiesbaden on December 27th, 1874. Litfaß invented and established the advertising column or pillar that is named after him: Litfaßsäule. The pillars he built in Berlin were not only for advertising but also for news about the wars that Prussia was involved in during the time from 1864 to 1871. Ernst Litfaß, 1855 Printing Business Ernst Litfaß was born in 1816 in Berlin and when it was time to work in his stepfather’s printing business, he refused and tingled through Germany (Prussia) as an a ..read more

Just because because you can’t be in Cologne, Mainz, or Düsseldorf or any other cities that celebrated Karneval doesn’t mean you have to miss out on the fun. There are many German-American clubs and other organizations in the US that have pre-Lenten Carnival celebrations. What is Karneval? Karneval, Fasching, Fastnacht, Fasnet … German Carnival goes by many names, depending on the region. But no matter what you call it, it’s a time to have fun, to eat, to drink, to dress up, to celebrate before you fast during Lent from Ash Wednesday until Easter. Different names for the time before Len ..read more

Epiphany, Dreikönigstag, or Heilige Drei Könige on January 6th ends the Twelve Days of Christmas or Rauhnächte. It commemorates when the three Wise Men or three Holy Kings visited the Christ Child by following the star and brought him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.   Adoration of the Magi Bartolomé Bermejo, late 15th century (Eastern) Orthodox Christians often celebrate Christmas on that day, and/or remember Jesus’ baptism. Therefore many customs are associated with water, like bathing in water in Russia or diving for a cross thrown into a body of water in Florida (Tarpon Sp ..read more

The Christmas song that wasn’t. Schneeflöckchen, Weißröckchen is a winter song. It’s all about snowflakes and doesn’t mention Christmas at all. However, it is often sung during the advent time, which is why I included it in my playlist of German Christmas songs. Gerd Altmann auf Pixabay Tante Hedwig The song about snowflakes dates back to the 19th century. And while it is often described as a folk tune where you normally don’t even know the creator, we know that Hedwig Haberkern wrote the text to the song as part of her story Die Geschichte von der Schneewolke (The story of the snow cl ..read more

While Christmas traditions vary throughout Germany and families, there are some that you will find, in one form or another, in almost every German city and household that celebrates Christmas. Here are 10 German Christmas traditions. 1. Adventskranz - Advent Wreath The four Sundays before Christmas are Advent Sundays and the time is called Adventszeit. The word Advent comes from the Latin ‘advenire’ meaning ‘to arrive’.  Most German households have an Adventskranz (advent wreath) made from greenery with four candles to mark those four Sundays. Every Sunday another candle gets lit. Th ..read more