April, May and Juny in Germany are rich in various holidays and additional days off. Especially happy are Bavaria and Baden-Wurttemberg. They have still additional Pentecost school holidays.
Other German holidays
Feasts in Germany. December – January
Carnival vocabulary
Saint Martin Feast. Songs
DIY lanterns for Saint Martin feast. 4. “Drums” and “Houses”
What is Besen?
The German carnival has many traditions and special words. Here are the most important of German carnival vocabulary words. What is Jeck and Larve? What does a Funkmariechen do? These and other questions we answer in this post.
Carnival – Faschingsumzug or Fastnachtsumzug – a favorite entertainment not only for children, but also for adults. Carnivals are not held in all German cities, usually larger or tourist ones in western and southwestern Germany.
The largest (most visited) are carnivals in Cologne, Dusseldorf, Mainz.
Christmas in Europe is a special time. A Christmas market, trees and decorations, Christmas carols … But all this you find not on Christmas itself, but earlier – on Advent. From December 23 to January 27, Europe is not the best place to visit: just before Christmas, everyone completely empties the store shelves and lies at the bottom: long weekends, no one works, except gas station, Donners and a few restaurants. The interval between Christmas and New Year and after the New Year is the time of sales of old clothing collections. And immediately after January 6, the holidays are completely over: the lights and the trees are removed.
This post is for those who have just met the German christmas cookies fanaticism and don’t know where to start. You can easily find a couple of hundred cookie-themed recipes on the Internet, here are the most basic ones for beginners.
As soon as the children go to the kindergarten, the kindergarten and school “tribute” begin. For St. Martin, to sell at the Christmas market, to fundraise for the trip, for Basteltag, for the pre-Christmas breakfast in the garden, for the school Christmas breakfast, for Easter …
The easiest way is to get off with muffins, but if you intend to feed a large crowd, it turns out to be expensive (in form mini-muffins is ok). Cakes are welcome for flee markets, but otherwise rather not. Buying something is easier, but expensive (when they ask for fruit, for example). For large events, cookies are most convenient – it’s easy to make, but it’s tedious and long to decorate. However you can involve the whole family in the process.
The main children’s autumn holiday is on the way – Sankt Martin Festival in Germany. Processions with lanterns are timed to this holiday.
The memory of Saint Martin is celebrated on November 11th. But processions in his honor usually take place after All Saints’ Day, that is, after November 1, and small processions of one kindergarden or urban area can be scheduled for any day of the last week of October.
We end our big review with diy silhouette lantern: red leaves and black figurines.
Read more:
part 1 – lighting possibilities, basic materials,
part 2 – papier-mache, lampions, papier bags,
part 3 – polygons, “cheese package”,
part 4 – “houses” and “drums”.
Separat about feast and songs for it.
Bascetta star tutorial
German school cone (Schultüte). How to make
Since we live in a wine region, we had to explore German wine classification system. And German wines are not bad at all, if you make right choice.
Wine production in Germany is regulated by the wine law. There are clearly fixed regions and types of wines.
The EU has its own classification by territory, but it was successfully integrated into the existing one, so that nothing has changed significantly.
In this post about different classifications (classic German wine classification + EU, taste, VDP), wine regions, popular sorts.
“Drum” – the simplest and fastest form for diy lantern. The choice of motive is limited only by your desires and imagination. “Houses” are cubes or other prisms. Here you have to work more and plan more time, that is, this is an option for older children.
Next possible forms and techniques – polygonal lantern and cylinder lantern (“cheese package”).
part 1 lighting, basic materials
part 2 paper mache lantern, lampions lantern, paper bags,
part 4 – “houses” and “drums”
DIY silhouette lantern for Saint Martin feast. Part 5
Separat about feast and songs for it.
Bascetta star tutorial
German school cone (Schultüte). How to make
In the first part, we looked at the possible lighting options and basic materials for diy lanterns. Now let’s see what typical forms and what techniques are used. I must say, that the imagination is inexhaustible and every year new variants for lanterns appear. I tried to collect most of the ones already invented.
part 1 – lighting, basic materials,
part 3 – polygons, “cheese package”,
part 4 – “houses” and “drums”
DIY silhouette lantern for Saint Martin feast. Part 5
Separat about feast and songs for it
Bascetta star tutorial
German school cone (Schultüte). How to make
This thread is all about Saint Martin lanterns for Saint Martin Festival. Let’s start with lighting and materials, then discuss the basic shapes of lanterns and some techniques.
Please note that most lanterns require not only lighting, but also a stick to carry it on. And there are more problems with a stick than with a candle.
Bio and local products are in great demand, although it is not always easy to find them. In this post – where you can find farmer market, farmer products and whether your can eat for free apples and Co on the way.
Riddle from the series “Do you know Germany well?”
What do the owners want to say if they hang a broom on the house?
They are called stumbling blocks – Stolpersteine. And this is really so: you suddenly notice them, raising your leg for the next step. You stumble and stop to once again remember how often man is a wolf to man. About how easy calls to a strong power and shouts about a “special” path, “special” moral … Read more
The first part was about picturesque old town. Not only buildings here are old, but also the traditions. Pie and Spring Festival (Kuchen- und Brunnenfest) dates from 1316.
Already the Celts discovered a source of salt in these places and founded the first saltworks. Thanks to this source, the city flourished in the Middle Ages.
I have made further Bascetta star instructions as detailed as possible, because this part is difficult and is very vague on the Internet-instructions.
There are several ways to fold a star. I made Bascetta star tutorial, because it’s one of the most beautiful variations that is pretty simple, including the luminous version.
“What are you going? Wichteln? What is Wichteln?” – This question often comes up in November, when foreign mothers receive the letter from school. It can also come from the kindergarden (rather unlikely), sports club or even from work.
What is it meant? Wichtel is a gnome who secretly does good. In the modern version, gifts for Christmas are supposed. The specialty of this way of giving gifts is secrecy or accident.
