Genealogy Is An Adventure

Tag: Christmas

  • Merry Christmas

    Long before I got into genealogy, I collected postcards. It started when I was a little girl. When relatives or neighbors would go on vacation they would send me or my parents a postcard. I have quite a collection from people who are not with us anymore. About 10 years ago I started collecting images from my hometown, Düsseldorf, Germany. I have two binders full organized by publishing dates. The oldest one I believe was posted in 1896. A few years ago I saw a Christmas postcard and started to collect those. Those images are rare and hard to come by. Here are three from my Düsseldorf Christmas collection.

    I love this postcard, it shows an angel hovering over the new bridge spanning over the river Rhein. It was mailed 23 December 1900 to the Netherlands.

    This image is of Santa on the Graf Adolf Street. This image is from circa 1906. The street looks totally different today, as most of it was destroyed during WW2. The postcard was not mailed.

    This image is of the Marien Church and the Franciscan Monastery. The postcard was mailed 23 December 1905, 120 years ago. It’s hard to imagine all the things which happened during that time.

    I do hope you enjoyed these Christmas images. I wish all my readers a

    Very Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year

  • St. Nikolaus Day

    Last month I wrote about St. Martin’s Day, which we celebrated as children in Germany. Today I will be writing about the holidays season and St. Nikolaus.

    The first of advent which is always on a Sunday starts the official Christmas season in Germany. At home everyone had an Aventskranz (advent wreath).

    We would light the first candle on the first day of advent and the rest of the candles the following three Sundays. Children received an Advendskalender (advent calendar) on December 1st. The calendar had 24 little doors with hidden chocolates. Each day you had to find the door with the corresponding number and open it.

    The calendar would have different characters from Christmas or from fairy tales. My Mother would take me to the store and I could choose one.

    On of the most exciting days in December for us children was St. Nikolaus Day which is always on December 6th.

    The night before, on December 5th, we put our slippers outside of our room and the next morning they were filled with chocolates, nuts and mandarins and small toys. If we had not behaved, St. Nikolaus would leave behind only twigs. In school we would recite poems and sing songs.

    When I grew up I believed in the Christkind, roughly translated the christ child, which has nothing to with Jesus. She was more like an imaginary angel which would bring the gifts on Christmas.

    When we had beautiful sunsets with red skies my Mother would tell me that this was a sign that the Christkind was baking. Every evening until Christmas I would look outside and wait for the sky to turn red again.

    In the city where I grew up, we would go and look at all the Christmas displays in the store windows.

    At the Christmas market we bought roasted nuts and chestnuts.

    On Christmas eve my Mother shut the living room door and the magic happened while I was sleeping. The Christmas tree went up, be decorated and the Christkind brought the gifts. The next morning, bright and early, I was allowed back into the room filled with lots of presents under the tree.

    The Christmas season in Germany goes through January 6th and ends with Epiphany or Three Kings Day. Children from our church dressed up as kings, roamed through the apartment houses, sang and asked for donations.

    I have wonderful memories of the Christmas season in Germany. My Mother always kept the tree up way past the 6th of January.

    How did you spend the holiday season in your childhood? Please leave a comment below.