Christkindlmarkt

Kyle had heard about Christkindlmarkt being a traditional German Christmas market that they were holding at This is the Place and thought it sounded cool. So we decided that we would take the family and check it out.

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While we were waiting for our turn to visit with St Nicholas, he had this conversation with the girl just before us:

St Nicholas: What would you like for Christmas?

Girl: Didn’t you read my letter?

St Nicholas:When did you mail it?

Girl: Two days ago

St Nicholas: Well then I’ll get it tomorrow. It takes three days for letters to get to the North Pole.

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After taking pictures with St Nicholas we walked around and searched for the answers to their treasure hunt for kids. Here is the list of questions and the answers that we found:

Kinder Treasure Hunt

1 Who is the Christkindlmarkt named after? Christkind

2 How do you say “Christmas Tree” in German? Tannenbaum

3 What is a traditional German Christmas cookie?

4 How many candles are found on an advent wreath?

5 What famous Christmas song was originally written in German? Stille Nacht (Silent Night)

6 What is special about December 6th? St Nicholas Day

7 How do you say “Merry Christmas” in German? Froliche Weinachten or Frohe Weinachten

8 What tiny creatures are known for wearing tall pointed hats? Gnomes or Tomte

9 What wooden Christmas decoration is found in many German homes? Nutcrackers

10 Who goes from house to house at Christmastime singing songs and collecting money? Sternsinger

11 Who tore his cloak in two and gave it to a poor man? St Martin

12 What do children carry during the St Martin’s parade? Lanterns

I was really excited to get to learn more about Christmas in Germany and to share that experience with the kids. Kyle and I had talked about teaching our children about Christmas in Germany and in Sweden and Hanukkah since we have ancestors from both Germany and Sweden and who were Jewish, but we never really knew how to start because it was something that we also didn’t know very much about. So I’m very glad that we were able to go, and that we know a little bit more about Christmas in Germany now.

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