Christmas in the Berchtesgadener Land
Christmas is one of the most beautiful times of the year in the Berchtesgadener Land, a white mantle of snow muffles all sounds, Christmas trees are decorated with wooden toys, angels and real wax candles; many roofs lined with strings of white lights and a sense of joy and expectancy fills the air.
christmas market
Christmas coincides - and replaces - the old Germanic Julfest, a celebration of the winter solstice, a time that marks the point when the days begin to grow longer. According to ancient Germanic beliefs, this was a time when departed souls returned to partake of the feasts and celebrations of the mortals, thus Julfest was a time of remembrance.
Perhaps in keeping with this belief, on Christmas Eve most of the graves in Berchtesgaden are adorned with miniature, but real, Christmas trees, decorated and alight with burning candles.
For one week before Christmas, every afternoon at 15:00, all the church bells in Berchtesgaden ring for 30 minutes, along with the deafening sound of the
'Weihnachtsschützen'.
Friday, 29. August 2008
