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Christmas Eve

By Josef Ruland
Information kindly provided by the Consulate General of Federal Republic of Germany, Vancouver

The shops shut punctually at I p.m. on December the 24th. There are, of course, public services that still have to be manned. Trams and trains must run, doctors continue to care for the sick, and urgent automobile repairs have to be carried out, but in general work stops at midday on Christmas Eve. Everyone makes their way home as quickly as possible so as to change for the festivity. You put on your best clothes for Christmas Eve. That is important. The small children sit in a corner, trying to conceal their impatience.

As soon as evening has come and the first Church bells sound out for Christmas Vespers, the distribution of presents gets under way in the family. The father or mother will have crept unnoticed into the locked room. A little bell is used to indicate that the Christ Child or Father Christmas has called and left presents for everyone. In homes where a locked room is not available for a longer period, all the members of the family are kept out of one room for at least this afternoon so that last-minute preparations can be made in feverish haste. When the bell sounds, the youngest is charged with opening the door to see what the Christ Child has brought. The door is opened, and there is a hush as everyone stops to admire the radiant tree. Such an occasion provides a demonstration of what light can - and used to - signify for man. In most families, particularly where there are children and young people, it is then customary to sing a pious song. The order of events is similar wherever Christmas Eve is traditionally celebrated in Germany. Only when this song is over may presents be unpacked and looked at. That is the moment that the children, large and small, have eagerly awaited for so long. Older members of the family time and again enjoy the pleasure of their children and other recipients of presents.

As soon as the presents have been distributed, one of the children will be asked to say a poem. Someone from the family will sit down at the piano and play carols. Where that is not possible, the family will listen to Christmas records or a Christmas concert on the radio. Come what may, there must be music on Christmas Eve.

Families differ as to whether they have their Christmas meal before or after the distribution of presents, In many Catholic households it is still customary to eat little throughout the day. The 24th used in fact to be a day of fasting. In most regions there are very specific dishes for Christmas Eve. On Christmas Day most people have a goose, a dish originally associated with St. Martin's Day. In southerly parts of Germany, south of a line from Munich to Passau, the main meal on Christmas Eve follows the Midnight Mass. The main element here is a kind of consommé with dumplings.

People are now beginning to realize once again that a present bought in a matter of minutes does not do sufficient justice to Christmas. More and more people are pointing out the undesirable consequences of the way we regard the giving of presents. Children and young people get the idea that things will always continue like this. Increasing the value of presents is only possible to a limited extent though. What worries the critics even more, however, is that young people become accustomed to this idea of Christmas, viewing it as a festival of present-giving whose existence is more or less fortuitous. The heart of the Christmas message - "Peace on earth and goodwill to all men" - gets lost. So too do the feelings and the emotions involved in this festival.

That is why Churches of all denominations and the big welfare organizations are increasingly preoccupied by these disturbing developments. They call on the public to show concern for their neighbours, for anyone who needs help and suffers particularly much at Christmas from loneliness, poverty and destitution. One such fund-raising activity is called "Adveniat", thus making apparent the link with Christmas. These efforts should not be underestimated since readiness to give is never so great as at Christmas. The generosity does not just apply to close relatives and personal friends. The German postal services have more to do at Christmas than at any other time of the year. There are quite a few people whose greatest pleasure at Christmas consists of giving to others. That is sufficient compensation for all the walking, waiting, and buying involved. From the start of Advent, all of human life is involved in activities devoted to love of neighbour and the giving of presents. Even organizations for the protection of animals are particularly concerned about wild creatures at Christmas, especially song-birds which have difficulties in finding food when snow falls early.

Back to Christmas Eve though. When the distribution of presents is over, carols have been sung, and the dinner has taken place, peace returns to the family. People devote themselves to their presents, and pass the time sociably until midnight. Christmas services are held at midnight in both the Protestant and the Catholic Churches. Clergymen concede that these are the only services of the year when the Churches are overcrowded with people flocking to hear the gospel message of the birth of Christ. Churches in popular ski resorts are full too. Skiers may be mainly interested in enjoying Christmas in the snow but they do not want to miss the service in a village church. Until recently the Catholic mass was at 6 a.m. on Christmas morning.

Advent • St. Nicholas • The Christmas Markets • The Christmas Tree

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