Christmas traditions around the world: Germany

Hi, I’m Wilbur. I’ve noticed that everyone’s been getting really excited about one thing lately: Christmas! We don’t have Christmas back in Monstonia, so I’ve asked my friends at Webcertain what it’s all about, and it seems that different countries have their own unique Christmas traditions. My friend Jens is from Germany, and he says that the festive season begins on the night of the 5th of December, when children clean their shoes and leave them outside the front door overnight. When they wake up in the morning, their shoes are filled with sweets, nuts and other little presents from St. Nicholas! Another important German Christmas tradition is the advent wreath. This is made of dried flowers, berries and pine cones – along with four candles. Every week throughout the month of December, they light one candle every Sunday. They actually celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve, and on this day, children will sing Christmas songs for the Christmas angel, known as the “Christkind”, which brings them presents.