Christmas in East Saxony

I was born in Bautzen – an Eastern German town in Saxony which is known for its excellent mustard – and grew up in this area, not far from the Polish and Czech borders. Since my parents still live there, I spend Christmas in the place of my childhood.

Saxony, especially the mountain region of the Erzgebirge, is famous for its Christmas decorations. My aunt and uncle, who live in Chemnitz, need a whole week to unpack, clean and arrange all of their decorative idems. My parents, however, prefer a simpler look and limit their decorations to candle arches, a Herrnhuter Stern (a star made from red or yellow paper and illuminated from within), smokemen (miniature wooden figures inside of which aromatic incense cones are burnt), a German Christmas pyramid and a Christmas tree.

This is a Herrnhuter Stern

I like to go to Christmas concerts in the time leading up to the 24^th of December. German choirs performing in churches are a fantastic sound experience, and beside intonating traditional Christmas songs they often surprise their guests with modern melodies, Jazz and Gospel music.

A choir rehearses in a church in Jena/ Thuringia

Of course I bake some Christmas cookies in December, especially German Lebkuchen. It is a lovely tradition, especially because the smell wafting through the house is encredible!

 

Homemade German Lebkuchen filled with jam and almond paste - hmm!

My family have never much adhered to tradition. Instead of eating Christmas cookies in the afternoon of Christmas Eve, I prepare a new desert every year. Many families in our area have a roast or specially spiced Christmas sausages (German Bratwurst!) for dinner on Christmas Eve, but we are not very fond of eating heavy food at a time when there is a general surplus of feasts, quite apart from having a vegetarian among our ranks. Thus we have developed a tradition of our own: we mostly eat fish and potato salad.

In the morning of Christmas Eve my father carries our Christmas tree into the house. It is arranged in the living room, then decorated with baubles, lights and wooden ornaments. Only when daylight fades do we switch on the fairy lights in our tree and go for a walk. Being atheists, we do not attend church service. Afterwards, we all receive beautifully wrapped presents under the Christmas tree. Since the year my parents told me that Father Christmas is a myth, I have been giving them presents as well.