Christmas Customs 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), Austria, and Switzerland. For more details, click on any linked topic. Also see An A-to-Z Guide to Christmas in Germany for much more about German Christmas customs. At the bottom of this page you’ll also find a complete list of USA/Germany cultural comparison topics.
The Christkindlmarkt in Salzburg, Austria. Christmas markets are just one of many Christmas customs found all across Europe.
PHOTO: Wikimedia Commons
CULTURAL DIFFERENCES: Christmas Customs – Weihnachten
| Cultural Differences between the USA and Germany Christmas vs. Weihnachten |
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| USA | GERMANY |
| CHRISTMAS • WEIHNACHTEN See Christmas in Germany for more |
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| 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 lighted with strings of colorful electric lights. | In traditional families, the Christmas tree is lighted 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. More… | |
| 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 political 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. | |
| Free PDF Downloads of these charts! | |
Also see: A German Christmas – from A to Z – A Guide to Christmas customs in Austria, Germany and Switzerland
Christmas 2 • Weihnachten 2
| Cultural Differences between the USA and Germany Christmas 2 – Weihnachten 2 |
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| USA | GERMANY |
| CHRISTMAS 2 • WEIHNACHTEN 2 | |
| 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… |
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| More about these topics: Christmas | Christmas Tree | “Silent Night” | Advent | St. Nicholas | More… |
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| Advent Calendar with daily German Christmas traditions (in season) | |
| Free PDF Downloads of these charts! | |
Also see: A German Christmas – from A to Z – A Guide to Christmas customs in
Austria, Germany and Switzerland
Back | Cultural Comparisons – Part 1
Related Pages
CULTURAL COMPARISONS
- Beer and Wine > Comparison Chart
- Business and the Economy > Comparison Chart
- Christmas in Germany > Comparison Chart (above)
- Driving > Comparison Chart
- Friends and Acquaintances (Sie and du) > Comparison Chart
- German Driver’s License > Comparison Chart
- House and Home > Comparison Chart
- Radio and Television > Comparison Chart
- Religion > Comparison Chart
- Restaurants and Dining > Comparison Chart
- Shopping in Germany > Comparison Chart
- Table Manners in Germany > Comparison Chart
- Thanksgiving in Germany – Not a chart, but a detailed comparison of the holiday in the USA and in German-speaking Europe
- PDF Downloads – Free printable PDF versions of these cultural comparison charts.
Back | Cultural Comparisons – Part 1
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