Germany and the USA | Cultural Differences - Christmas customs - Weihnachten

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Cultural Comparisons:
Christmas in the USA and Germany

In the charts below you’ll find a simplified comparison of Christmas customs and traditions in the United States and Germany (Deutschland). For more details, click on any linked topic. Also see our Christmas page for more about German Christmas customs. At the bottom of this page you'll also find a complete list of USA/Germany cultural comparison topics.

Christmas vs. Weihnachten

Comparing Cultural Differences Christmas in the USA and Germany
USA	GERMANY
CHRISTMAS • WEIHNACHTEN See the Christmas page for more about German Christmas customs.
Saint Nicholas (St. Nick, Santa) brings gifts on Christmas Eve.	Sankt Nikolaus brings gifts on Dec. 6 or the night of Dec. 5. More…
American children usually open their Christmas presents on Christmas Day (Dec. 25).	German children open their Christmas presents on Christmas Eve (Dec. 24). More…
The Christmas tree custom was brought to the US by German immigrants. In England, Queen Victoria’s German husband, Prince Albert, introduced the same custom.	The first written record of the German Christmas tree (Tannenbaum) custom dates back to 1605, but it probably began no later than 1550. More…
The Christmas tree is lit with strings of colorful electric lights.	In traditional families, the Christmas tree is lit with real candles, but only under strict conditions. More…
German-style Christmas markets are found only in large cities with a German-American tradition (Chicago, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, New York, etc.).	Almost every larger town has one or more Christmas markets open from the end of November until Christmas. Large cities may have over a dozen such markets. More…
Weihnachtsmarkt There are various regional German names for a Christmas market: Christkindlesmarkt, Christkindlemarkt, Christkindlmarkt, Adventmarkt, Glühweinmarkt, Striezelmarkt or Weihnachtsmarkt. Nuremberg's Christkindlesmarkt is one of Germany's oldest and best-known Christmas markets. - See photos of German Christmas markets. Video of Christmas markets (AboutGerman.net)
Santa (St. Nick) has a sleigh and "eight tiny reindeer" who take him around the world to bring presents to children.	The German gift-bringer is either der Weihnachtsmann (Father Christmas) or the angel-like Christkindl.
Santa Claus and Thomas Nast The German-American cartoonist Thomas Nast not only created the traditional jolly, round Santa Claus image in the 1860s, but also the Democratic donkey and the Republican elephant. More…
More about Christmas in the USA and Germany below.
Advent Calendar with daily German Christmas traditions (in season)

PDF Downloads for many of these cultural comparisons, including Christmas traditions
A German Christmas - from A to Z - An A-to-Z Guide to Christmas customs in Austria, Germany and Switzerland

Christmas 2 • Weihnachten 2

Comparing Cultural Differences Christmas in the USA and Germany (2)
USA	GERMANY
CHRISTMAS • WEIHNACHTEN 2 See the Christmas page for more about German Christmas customs.
The American Christmas holiday observance is only one day, Dec. 25.	The German Christmas holiday is observed on two days (as in Britain): Dec. 25 and 26.
Few Americans are familiar with Advent and Advent customs, such as the Advent wreath. Even fewer observe such customs.	Every German knows about Advent and the Advent season (the four weeks before Christmas) and the Advent wreath custom. More…
Many Americans have adopted one German Advent custom: The chocolate-filled Advent calendar for children.	The chocolate-filled Advent calendar for children was invented in Germany in the late 1950s.
In the 1880s the American dime-store magnate F. W. Woolworth discovered Christmas glass ornaments during a visit to Germany. He made a fortune by importing the German decorative glass globes to the U.S.	The glass globes imported by Woolworth were first invented in Germany, probably in the town of Lauscha – then in the Duchy of Sachsen-Coburg, now in the state of Thuringia (Thüringen) – in the late 16th century. More…
Star Singers: Although caroling is popular in the US, the "Star Singers" tradition (during Epiphany, or the 12 Days of Christmas) found in Germany and some other European countries is unknown.	Sternsinger: Children in Germany participate in the charitable "Aktion Dreikönigssingen" to raise money for children's causes by singing carols during Epiphany. A similar program exists in Austria.
The first known performance of “Silent Night” (“Stille Nacht”) in the United States took place near New York City's Trinity Church in 1839.	The very first performance of “Stille Nacht” was with guitar accompaniment in Austria on Christmas Eve in 1818. More…
The “Silent Night” translation that we sing today in English first appeared in 1863 – the year of Franz Gruber’s death.	The words to “Stille Nacht” (written by Joseph Mohr) were set to music by Franz Gruber in 1818. More…
“Stille Nacht” “Silent Night,” the world's best-known Christmas carol, was composed in Oberndorf, Austria in 1818. Its German lyrics have been translated into more than a hundred other languages. More…
More about these topics: Christmas \| Christmas Tree \| “Silent Night” \| Advent \| More…
Advent Calendar with daily German Christmas traditions (in season)