Germany Does Christmas Right

As some of you may know, this holiday season I was separated from my family and friends by an ocean and a landmass. I will admit, I had some definite moments of sadness and homesickness. However, I am my mother's child, so I kept myself busy with a PLAN. A PLAN to expose myself to Hamburg's Christmas scene.

Part 1: The Christmas Markets

In Hamburg, every part of town has their own Christmas market, where you can enjoy glühwein (mulled wine), live music, fresh, hot sandwiches, and lots of pastries and chocolate. Additionally, each market features a little twist to represent the location. For example, being in the Red Light District, the Reeperbahn market features disco balls, bright chrome lights, and boutique sex toys. I don't think I can get away with posting pictures of the latter... for more information, inquire directly.

The Christmas markets in Hamburg blow Union Square in NYC out of the water.

There, I said it. Don't believe me? Look at these next pics of these Christmas markets that I found. I was actually searching for a store I had a gift card to, and I stumbled upon the "classic" markets alongside a church at the center of Hamburg. These are the most comparable to Union Square, and I was literally walking around trying to reactivate my masseter muscles. My mouth was hanging open.

I was smelling roasting meat, freshly baked bread, and mulled wine. Classic carols sung in German were creating a perfect ambiance for shop keepers to sell their beautiful Nativity scenes, handmade jewelry, and all kinds of bowls, cups and platters. Women were frying donuts and stuffing pastries in front of me, everything was covered in lights, and there was a merry-go-round with little kids laughing, eyes bright and noses running. Once I regained control of my jaw muscles, I was just smiling like an idiot.

This Christmas market's location twist, besides being classically "White Christmas," was that it was next to the river. It had restaurant boats that were topped with biblical scenes.

Get this, this was all way before Christmas. My actual Christmas experience was lovely, making new AIDA friends at our brunch on Christmas Day, and finished with Christmas dinner at Jodi's apartment. But, what I would love to highlight for the next segment of this blog is Christmas Eve!

Part 2: Mass on Christmas Eve

I consider myself a spiritual person who is very open to other people's religious experiences. I know that religion is often deeply embedded into culture, so I thought that the best way to spend my Christmas Eve would be to go to a German mass.

St. Michael's Church is a landmark place of worship in Hamburg, known for it's beautiful clock tower. SIDE NOTE: Every 15 minutes there are bell tolls from the many churches all over the city. It is SUPER easy to tell what time it is here, regardless of smartphones.

Anyway, I had passed St. Michael's a couple of days ago and had put my sights on it for Christmas Eve. The early evening of the 24th, I made my way to the church, arriving about twenty minutes early. What did I find but throngs of people vying for a seat inside. It was standing room only at that point, and people were sitting on the ground, on the stairs, crowding in front of seated people in the balcony....

I learned that night that Germans either don't consider blocking your view an inconvenience, or they just don't care....

I don't want to come to a definite conclusion about this one but I was surprised. I literally watched a man find two extra chairs in a closet, put them in the middle of the floor, and proceed to seat the two women he was with.

Regardless, here are some pictures I took once the mass was over, because I needed to wait for people to leave to get a clear view myself:

Details of the Mass:

1. I learned some German Carols.

2. The pastor (Lutheran church) was incredibly engaging, even though I was grasping at straws trying to understand her. I know her main speech began with a funny story about chocolate, and ended with the importance of family; sounds like Christmas to me!

3. The poor organ player could NOT. KEEP. A. TEMPO. Like, there are only so many times that you can be liberal with your baroque endings. And then increase Silent Night to an allegro randomly just because? Everyone around me was very confused.

4. There was a brass band in the balcony, and everyone knew every carol! I love that Germans love music.

5. At one point I did get a little bored, and I did (subconsciously!) begin casting The Sound of Music . I got pretty far, too!

Overall, my Christmas Eve was lovely and I am very glad that I was able to appreciate all of my blessings in a place of worship and beauty for the holidays. I hope that all of your celebrations have been just as meaningful. Much love to you all, Evy