English: My name is Bryan. I live in Osceola, Indiana, and attend Queen of Peace Catholic School. I am in sixth grade. I am writing a research report about my family heritage.
I hope you enjoy reading it.German: Mein is Bryan. Ich lebe in Osceola, Indiana, und besuche die katholische Schule der Königin des Friedens. Ich bin in der sechsten Klasse. Ich schreibe einen Forschungsbericht über mein Familienerbe. Ich wünsche Ihnen viel Spaß beim Lesen.Christmas TraditionAdvent is a big part of Christmas in Germany.
Christmas Trees are important to. The trees were first used in Germany during the Middle Ages. If kids lived in the household, the mother would secretly decorate the trees. The Christmas Tree was traditionally brought into the house on Christmas Eve. In some parts of Germany, during the evening the family would read the Bible, and sing Christmas songs such as O Tannenbaum (O Christmas Tree), Ihr Kinderlein Kommet (Come ye Ye Children), and Stille Nacht (Silent Night). Sometimes wooden frames covered with colored plastic sheets and with electric candles inside, are put in the windows to make the house look nice from the outside.
How to say Merry Christmas in Germany is Frohe Weihnachten. After dinner on Christmas, the adults and children go to the tree and look for a plate with there names on it. Those dishes have sweets such as walnuts, chocolates, marzipan, nougat, and others.
Krampus is a the bad side of St. Nick. Germans leave a stick by the front door to remind kids that if they are bad, they will get hit by Krampus. Christmas DecoratingThe legend of the Christmas Pickle is famous in the US, but most Germans never heard of it.
Germans put the Pickle and other glass ornaments on the tree. There are Santa ornaments, newborn ornaments, St. Nicholas ornaments, gingerbread ornaments, and the Nativity Scene ornaments. These glass ornaments were originally hand blown glass and were imported in the US in the 1880s by the Woolworth stores. Christmas WorshipGermans worship with Advent calendars.
Many different calendars are used in many homes. The main one made of card that are used in many countries, there are ones made out of wreath of Fir tree branches with twenty-four decorated boxes or bags hanging from it. Each box or bag has a little present from it.
Another type is called a ” Adventskranz” and is a ring of fir branches that has four on it. This is like the Advent Candles that are sometimes used in churches. One candle is lit at the beginning of each week in Advent. Catholics would go to midnight mass to worship. Christmas FoodsCarp or goose are often served for the main Christmas meal. Stollen is a popular yeast bread that is eaten at Christmas.
The “Bunte Teller” has a dish under the tree with sweets. They would also have German Pot Roast, Kartoffelpuffer, Jägerschnitzel, and other dishes. Current EventsAn artist named Milein Cosman sketched some of the greatest cultural figures of the 20th century including Benjamin Britten, TS Eliot, and Barbara Hepworth. 50 people were injured in a train crash near Dusseldorf, Germany. A hunter died while a wild boar, he was shooting at, attacked him.Mapping your Family’s PastAs far as we can tell my Great, Great, Great-Grandparents were in an Amish settlement in Germany. We can find information that my Great, Great- Grandparents were in the Amish German settlements that migrated from Ixheim, Germany. As the Amish left Europe, they settled in Pennsylvania, what is known as Lancaster County.
As they grew, Amish settled in Ohio, Indiana, Iowa and Illinois. The last settlement to leave Europe was in 1937. In the last six months we learned that our Great-Grandparents left the order but not sure if it was before they got married or after.Family Travel LogOur family once lived in Ixheim, Germany. A small town on the southwest side of the border. It appears they settled in LaPorte county, IN. My Grandparents were stationed in Wurzburg, Germany where my Aunt was born in 1958.
Personal ConnectionEarly this year, my family was contacted by a long lost cousin. He was the one who got us to start looking at where our grandparents came from. He has some information about our Lower/Coyle/Ullery connections. We are in the process of learning new things about our heritage daily.
BibliographyPersonal Communication was my Aunt Kathy on 12/5/17 in Mishawaka, Indiana. Newspaper title was the Obituaries from the LaPorte Daily Herald in 1923 with 2 pages. The title of the Internet Website is Ten Beloved German Christmas Traditions. The title section is Krampusnacht. The retrieval date was 10/18/17. The URL is https://germanfoods.org/german-food-facts/german-christmas-traditions/ Another site is www.whychristmas.com
