Domestic life and special occasions in Germany
Domestic Life
The German home is an orderly one and German cleanliness is legendary. Children are taught very early to be polite, courteous, and responsible. There are some regional differences that are noted by Germans themselves. Northerners feel that Bavarians (in the south) take life too easily, are too fond of good living, and speak with an unintelligible dialect. But the southern Germans counter this with the opinion that northerners are too dour and serious even if they grudgingly admit that northerners are honest and very hardworking.
Whether from the north or south, in most German households there is little
argument that father is the head. More recently the traditional view that
the "woman's place is in the home" is fast disappearing as increasingly
women join the workforce.
Kitchens are small but efficient and make use of modern gadgets and
electrical appliances. Small appliances are of high quality and often
perform several functions. Earthenware mixing bowls, strong wooden spoons,
pudding and cake molds, rubber, wooden, and metal spatulas, as well as
wire whisks all find a place in the German kitchen. Even if the weekdays
are busy ones, the hausfrau will find time to prepare a special dinner at
least once a week, while home baking for the holidays is traditional. Many
kitchens boast specialty baking utensils: the kugelhopf tube pan
with its diagonal spiral fluting; springform cake pans; flan and torte
pans; a springerle roller or wooden springerle molds for
cookies. Utensils are chosen for use and for quality and all are bought to
last.
In rural areas cold cellars are used for winter storage of root
vegetables, fruit, the family crocks of pickles and sauerkraut, and
shelves of home preserves and jams. But food storage is not such a
necessity in the city. Germans prefer their foods fresh. Baked goods, and
often vegetables, fruits, and meats are bought daily. Many specialty
stores, small open-air markets, and huge supermarkets and hypermarkets
with incredible selections of local and imported goods make shopping a
delight. Still other specialty shops feature a wide range of fine foods
such as imported cheeses, different breads and rolls, and sausages and
meats of every description. Milk too is not delivered to homes and is
often bought daily at nearby dairies.
Special Occasions
Present-day Germany is almost equally divided between Roman Catholics and Protestants and each group celebrates not only religious and saint's days but also join in beer and wine festivities, regional holidays and, in some areas, harvesting and planting festivities.
Hundreds of local and regional festivals and holidays are celebrated
throughout Germany and vary according to locale, as do customs and foods.
The South is predominantly Catholic while the North is mostly Protestant.
Plain cakes, bread, and cheese are served at funerals, while the happier
family occasions such as weddings, engagements, and confirmations call
forth wines and opulent meals from the best of the regional and family
specialties.
The wedding-eve party is called polterabend and, aside from the
special treats and wine that are served, guests traditionally bring
baskets or armloads of old crockery and these are cheerfully smashed
because "broken dishes bring good luck." Humorous and teasing speeches and
songs for the new couple help make a boisterous and fun-filled evening.
Another traditionally German evening is the herrenabend, an evening
for men only. Not quite the same as the familiar "stag party," the
herrenabend usually takes place for the purpose of discussing business
or politics while eating and drinking. Of course no one minds if, towards
the smaller hours of the evening, drinking predominates over conversation.
Spring and fall see the proliferation of many local beer and wine
festivals but none as overwhelming as the Munich Oktoberfest held
annually for a sixteen-day spree of beer-drinking, singing to the
oompah-pah bands, dancing, and snacking on roasted chickens, sausages, and
whole spit-roasted oxen all in gargantuan quantities. The lest, which
originated in 1810 to celebrate Crown Prince Ludwig's marriage, proved to
be such a good idea that it has been an annual event ever since. The
boisterous good fellowship has spread to other countries where citizens of
German origin make their homes, and, as with the Irish Saint Patrick's Day
parade, everyone, regard-less of ethnic background, happily joins in.
Together with the fun and frolic, eating and drinking, nearby amusement
parks offer all manner of games and rides as well.
The German's annual calendar is rung in with a quiet family evening on New
Year's Eve centered around the traditional specialty of Polish carp: a
whole carp gently poached in a rich sauce of beer, gingerbread crumbs,
lemon peel, almonds, and raisins all traditionally served with
kartoffelklosse and kraut. The festive meal is served with a
flaming punch bowl and completed with an array of baked treats. Catholics
eat no meat on New Year's Eve, Protestant families may enjoy other local
food favorites.
Three King's Eve, Epiphany or Dreihonigsabend signifies the end of
the Christmas season (Twelfth Night) and is greeted with the serving of
wine or punch and konigskuchen, a loaf cake with raisins, almonds,
and rum.
Arriving in bleak mid-winter is the brightest carnival of them all:
Fasching (elsewhere called Mardi Gras and Shrove Tuesday), usually a
three-day bash of costumes, masks, parades, processions, parties, and
revelry unmatched at any other time of year. Crullers called
fastnachtkrapfen are the special treat everywhere but feasting and
drinking before the Lenten restrictions is the general rule. The new
spring beer, called Bock, is celebrated during this time as well
and is enjoyed with bockwurst sausages that are the specialty of
the season. Holy Thursday (just before Good Friday) is also called
Grundonnerstag and the spring festival is heralded with the serving of
a green vegetable soup made of fresh spring vegetables, while other dishes
made with eggs and spinach are also traditional. Good Friday or
Karfreitag is a solemn day when all businesses and shops are closed.
For the pious, no meat is eaten; only fish dishes are allowed. Churches
open their doors revealing huge displays of fresh flowers and flickering
candles.
Easter or Oster arrives with the special aroma of home-baked fruited breads and cakes, candies in the form of eggs and rabbits, and a traditional Easter dinner featuring ham served with pureed peas. For the children, the Easter Bunny does his job of hiding colored eggs throughout the house and in gardens.
A pleasant spring ritual is the Whitsun Festival or Pfingstausfug,
a traditional spring outing when good luck is considered to be the prize
of the first person to hear a cuckoo, and everyone enjoys communing with
nature.
Germany is the land where many of Christendom's cherished Christmas
traditions originated. These include the Christmas tree, many Christmas
legends and hauntingly beautiful Christmas carols, as well as some of the
earliest staging of Christmas nativity scenes (by Saint Francis of Greccio,
1225) and primitive Christmas plays.
The holiday begins early with the many fairs held at this time of year,
especially the one held annually at Nurnberg. Here one finds every
conceivable decoration and toy for Christmas: a fairyland of color,
design, and fun. And for those who get hungry while shopping, there is the
famed Nurnberg lebkuchen and pfefferkuchen (spiced squares
and cakes).
While the first taste of Christmas may be at the fairs, the real beginning
of the festive season is on Saint Nikolaus' Day, December 6. The evening
before, all children hang up socks or hoots and find them filled in the
morning with sweets and small gifts. But the real excitement is the
house-to-house visit of Saint Nikolaus himself with his helper, Krampus, a
horrid furry little monster who carries a switch for bad children. But
most children have been good and therefore happily receive the saint's
good cookies and good wishes. Delicious smells drift from every home as
mothers almost daily prepare batches of honeyed and spiced cakes, cookies
and fragrant breads all called weihnachtsgeback. And everywhere
little naschhatzen (pilferers of sweets) are nibbling tastes of
stollen, lebkuchen, spritz cookies, springerle,
and spekulatius.
Christmas Eve brings tree-lighting and carol-singing and most families go
to church. Surprise gifts from Kris Kringle appear mysteriously under the
tree after everyone returns from church services. Since pious Christians
refrain from eating meat on Christmas Eve, the traditional dinner of
Polish carp baked in all its glory with beer, nuts and raisins is usually
the highlight of the meal surrounded with potato dumplings and dishes of
kraut. Punch or wine and fine bakery end the meal while others still
nibble on fruit and nuts. Christmas Day is a quiet family day in Germany
and the special dinner will likely be the regional specialty of roast
hare, roast pork, or a fine fat roasted goose. Marzipan fruits and little
figures are part of the decorations and the nibbles too.