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In Germany, Christmas markets sell decorated gingerbread before Christmas. (Lebkuchenhaus or Pfefferkuchenhaus are the German terms for a gingerbread house.) Making gingerbread houses is a Christmas tradition in many families. They are typically made before Christmas using pieces of baked gingerbread dough assembled with melted sugar.
Germany is credited with starting the Christmas tree tradition. Back in the 1600s, trees displayed in homes were not decorated with glass ornaments, but rather fruit.
Many families begin the celebration on Heiligabend (literally, Holy Evening, or Christmas Eve) in the afternoon or evening. Although there are two legal holidays in Germany, [Austria], most cantons of Switzerland and Liechtenstein for Christmas, Christmas Eve is not one of them, and in Switzerland, many companies and stores are open for a half-day in the morning until 4 p.m, after which ...
A Christmas tree inside a home, with the top of the tree containing a decoration symbolizing the Star of Bethlehem. [18]The Christmas tree was first used by German Lutherans in the 16th century, with records indicating that a Christmas tree was placed in the Cathedral of Strassburg in 1539, under the leadership of the Protestant Reformer, Martin Bucer.
Well-dressed children watch toys in the shop window of a department store displaying Christmas decorations on December 11, 1946. AFP - Getty Images F.W. Woolworth Company: 1947
The Mackinac State Historic Parks group is offering a special event to showcase what a colonial Christmas was like when the area was occupied in the 17th and 18th centuries.
These basic houses featured double-pitched hipped roofs and were surrounded by porches (galleries) to handle the hot summer climate. By 1770, the basic French Colonial house form evolved into the briquette-entre-poteaux (small bricks between posts) style familiar in the historic areas of New Orleans and other areas. These homes featured double ...
An example at the Christmas market in Düsseldorf. Christmas pyramids were originally hung from the ceiling of German families' houses. The custom spread across Europe, mainly to Italy and England and was brought to America by German immigrants in the 18th century. The origins of the Christmas pyramids date back to the Middle Ages.