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Music and Rituals: German Christmas Music

Christmas in Germany is a magical time of year. I lived in Germany for about 4 years, and they have many wonderful Christmas traditions that my family have implemented into our life to this day. Some popular Christmas traditions in Germany include the use of the Advent Calendar, going to Christmas Markets (my personal favorite), St. Nicholas Day, Three Kings Day, and of course, singing German Christmas songs! In Germany, I had to take a German class, where we learned all about Germany and its culture. During Christmastime, we would learn about all the different traditions and songs sung during Christmas.


German Advent Calendar




                                                                  German Christmas Market                   


German Christmas music has a long history of tradition, dating all the way back to medieval times. The oldest known and still used German Christmas songs date back to the 11th century. Early Christmas hymns usually integrated well-known folk melodies with lyrics written by local clergymen. They were often sung in churches and performed in Christmas plays. Today, Christmas songs are sung at home with family and/or at church. Some popular German Christmas songs are “O Tannenbaum”, “Stille Nacht”, and “Alle Jahre wieder”.

Believe it or not, but one of the world’s most famous Christmas carols had actually nothing to do with Christmas. “O Tannenbaum” (Oh Christmas Tree) is set to the tune of a traditional folk song and the lyrics were written in 1824 by an organist and composer named Ernst Anschütz, who was from Leipzig. The tree that inspired this song was a fir tree, and Anschütz saw its evergreen branches as a beautiful symbol of constancy and faithfulness. Later on, during the 19th century, when the custom of the Christmas tree was developed, did the song come to be seen as a Christmas tree carol.

 

 


 

Another one of the most famous Christmas carols in the world, "Stille Nacht" (Silent Night) was composed in a small village in Austria, named Oberndorf, in the early 19th century. The lyrics were written by the assistant priest Joseph Mohr. A Teacher named Franz Gruber composed the melody for Mohr and his song. “Stille Nacht” was sung for the first time at the Christmas Eve mass in Oberndorf near Salzburg in 1818, according to Gruber. By the mid-century, translations into English such as "Silent Night" had appeared. It was being sung all around the world by the 20th century.


 


 

There is not much history on the song “Alle Jahre wieder”, however the religious lyrics to this well-known Christmas carol were written in 1837 by Johann Wilhelm Hey. The melody is commonly attributed to Friedrich Schiller. It celebrates and describes the annual return of “Christkind” or the Christ Child. The Christkind was an angle-like Jesus figure who brought children presents.

 

 


 

German Christmas music is very important to the celebration of Christmas. The songs have meanings of peace, hope, and love which are ideas essential to the Christmas spirit. Some of the songs have religious meanings and celebrate the birth of Jesus and having faith. Singing Christmas carols is also a way to bring friends and family closer together during Christmastime.



Sources:

“German Christmas Carols.” German Christmas Carols - Deutsche Weihnachtslieder - Christmas in Germany - Weihnachten in Deutschland, https://www.vistawide.com/german/christmas/german_christmas_carols.htm.

“A German Christmas.” San Francisco Early Music Society, 5 Dec. 2014, https://sfems.org/a-german-christmas/.

Wedia. “10 Traditional German Christmas Carols (and Their Lyrics in English).” IamExpat, 24 Dec. 2020, https://www.iamexpat.de/lifestyle/lifestyle-news/9-traditional-german-christmas-carols-and-their-lyrics-english.

www.facebook.com/The.Taste.of.Germany. “Ten Beloved German Christmas Traditions.” Germanfoods.org, 8 July 2019, https://germanfoods.org/german-food-facts/german-christmas-traditions/.

Comments

  1. Bella PistilliSeptember 26, 2022 at 11:12 AM

    I loved the pictures and links in your blog post! I have never experienced Christmas in Germany but your blog post made me want to. It is so cool all of the different traditions that different cultures have.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Amanda BreonaSeptember 27, 2022 at 6:44 PM

    it was interesting reading about how Christmas is different in Germany, it was cool to read about the different carols they have in Germany. It's interesting to see how you guys sing some of the same music we have here in America.

    ReplyDelete
  3. KhariOctober 1, 2022 at 6:20 AM

    i had never even thought about christmas songs in other languages, hearing songs in different languages that i know in english was cool cause i could kind of sing along but not as the same time.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Tera NguyenOctober 1, 2022 at 9:58 PM

    It's so interesting learning that some popular Christmas songs originated from Germany! I enjoyed listening to how differently they sounded in their original language. I also just now searched up German Christmas markets, and they do honestly remind me a bit of the small German town I visited in Florida last summer - except with the Christmas markets seeming to be so much more amazing and grander. They do look like they'd be a blast to visit in-person.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Aiden AyalaOctober 3, 2022 at 6:04 PM

    It was very interesting reading how different Christmas is in Germany. All of the different traditions and cultures in Germany was very cool to me! It's interesting seeing in Germany y'all sing some of the same music we have in America.

    ReplyDelete

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