Christmas Tree

Christmas trees in Germany are real, you will not normally find plastic Christmas trees like in the U.S. Families go out and pick their own tree at a tree farm, and they are not as expensive as the real trees in the U.S. My host family got their tree for around 20 euros while in America real trees cost around 100 dollars. Christmas trees are not usually decorated until the week before Christmas, using real glass ornaments and not as much lights as American trees have. Usually traditional colors are used, such as red and green, but sometimes blue, silver, and gold are added too. 

Christmas Markets

During the winter people from all over Europe come to Germany and shop at their famous Christmas Markets. These markets are located all over Germany, but each have a different style and size. These historic Christmas Markets offer homemade Christmas gifts, crafts, not to mention roasted chestnuts and other delicious foods. These markets usually start the last week in November and end Christmas Eve, and open from 10 am to 8 or 9 pm each day. 

                                                Christmas Market Bonn, Germany

Advent Calendars

Like in America kids in Germany do get Advent calendars with the most popular ones containing chocolate. Other popular ones have toys, candy, little notes or parts of a story, and I have seen one that was an Advent calendar with different types of tea each day.

This is a picture of the Advent calendar that I got, which contained chocolate!

Another German custom is Advent wreaths, which are normally hand made by a family member. Advent wreaths are made of evergreen leaves and have four candles, signifying  the 4 sundays before Christmas. Even thought the one my host family and I made is not a wreath, it still held the same purpose .

9th of December St Nicholas Day

On the ninth of December children wake up in Germany, and to their surprise they find candy, chocolate, and fruit in their shoes. The night before children are told by their parents to clean their shoes and place them by the door so St. Nicholas has some place to leave the treats. Some people celebrate St. Nicholas in America but most children receive their gifts in stocking instead of shoes.

Food

In Germany, most people eat three meals a day and it is not common to have snacks in between. The meals are big and usually last long, in Germany eating together is a family activity and a social event. Only expect one hot meal a day, the rest are usually cold and consist of sandwiches or some sort of meat. Bread is eaten at almost every meal, and bought fresh from the bakery everyday, and you cannot forget Germany's famous pretzels. Ice cream in Germany comes from Italy and it is very good, the second to last photo is of Spaghetti ice cream, which is ice cream put though a pasta machine and then topped with raspberry sauce.

St. Martin's Day

St. Martin's Day is a holiday, celebrated in Southern Germany on November 11 and it is like our Halloween, but more religious.

The holiday is based off of a religious legend, and one version goes like this; Martin, a Roman Solider, was traveling by horse through a snowstorm. He saw a beggar while traveling dying from the cold, so he decided to save him, he took his sword and cut his cloak in half, and gave half to the beggar. He dreamed latter that night about Jesus, he was wearing half of his cloak; Jesus turned out to be the beggar.

To celebrate this holiday the German children make lanterns out of paper either in their school or at home. On the night of St. Martin's children reenact the legend and then put candles in their paper lanterns to light their way, as they walk to different houses and sing. They ring the door bells and sing songs about St. Martin to the people that answer, in return the children get given candy (just like Halloween)!

Here is one of the songs the children sing.
Ich geh mit meiner Laterne und                                                         I go with my lantern and
Meine Laterne mit mir. Dort oben Leuchten die                       My lantern with me. There above light
Sterne, hier unten, da leuchten                                                         the stars, here below, there
wir. Mein Licht geht aus, wir gehn nach haus.              we light. My light goes out, we go back home    La-bim-mel, la-bam-mel, la-bum                                             La-bim-mel, la-bam-mel, la-bum

Halloween

Halloween is not celebrated in Germany like in America, trick or treating is not done and most kids do not dress up in costumes. Germans do know of the holiday in America and it is become more polular here, but more among the teenagers who want to have halloween parties. Some kids do dress up and go to some houses to get candy, not very common though, but they do not say "tick or treat." Some places and houses are decortated for Halloween but not as extravagent as in the U.S.A and nobody puts up Halloween lights. Carving pumkins has become very popular in the last few years along with watching horror movies around the Halloween time.

On Monday October 31 there is a Holiday

Only in Southern Germany, because their are more christian people, is this holiday celebrated. This holiday is to honor and remember the dead, families go to the graves of their loved ones to lay flowers and get the grave ready for winter. Families also light candles and place them in the latern holders on the grave, this is an important part of the holiday.

Lunch during school days

Like in America it is normal for a person to eat three meals a day in Germany. One of them being a hot/cooked meal, usually eaten at lunch time. Lunch is typically not served at school, so a German students either go home for lunch, to the city, or brings their own lunch from home. Lunch breaks for school are typically an hour and forty-five minutes, giving the student enough time to go home if they want.  During the 15 minute breaks between every 2 classes, student normally go out to the courtyard and eat a snack, such as fruits, vegetables, sweets, or sandwiches.  It is also normal for student to eat during class here, which is typically not allowed in America.

After School

Most schools in Germany offer no clubs or sports after school. If you want to join a club then you need to go through an organization or find a team in your city. Most German students are in 1-2 clubs or sports and have practice/lessons once or twice a week. Practice or lessons are usually 1-2 hours and if you are in a sport there are games on the weekend. Soccer is very popular in Germany almost every boy plays it, or played it when they were younger.

Since school days are not as long as in America it is easy to do lots of activities after school. When students do not have activities they are either with friends or family.

School Breaks and School Facts

German students do not have a long summer break like in America, but most do have a 6 week long break. School breaks are more spread out in Germany, they have 2 week long fall, winter, and spring break, unlike in America where our winter break is based on which day Christmas falls. Students also have shorter school days which makes up for not having a long summer break. Germans like Americans enjoy to  travel during their school breaks and spend time with friends, many travel to neighboring countries since everything in Europe is close.

In German schools students homework is not graded, like in America, instead their grade is decided by tests. Hardly any tests are multiple choice, instead they are essays or short answer questions, and teachers do not give review sheets. Same as in America though teachers give hints to what will be on the test and some will tell you the topic before hand.

One interesting fact that I have learned and experienced is that if teachers are sick or not in school, then the higher level grades do not have that class for the day. Substitute teachers are not common in higher level grades and instead it is just a free period.

School Day

In Germany they have what is known in the US as blocked scheduling, which means that students do not have the same classes everyday. For example I only have math on wenesdays and thursdays, but on thursdays I have two periods instead of one. Most days end shorter then school in America, ending around 1:15 and starting at 8:15, wenesdays being the exception that usually goes til 4. Lunch is only served in school on wenesdays, all other days students eat at home or during the 15 minute break every 2 periods.  Students don't have as much freedom or as many choices as we do when choosing classes. There are no classes offered like cooking, sewing, photography, or computers, and once you pick a class like biology or spanish you have to take it for a certain number of years.  Students are put on tracks with their classes and have to decide which pre-planned track they want to be on, and can't change it.

German Education Structure

In the Image above is the German Education Structure, Unlike in the U.S.A where most of us attend Pre-school, 
Kindergarten, Elementary, Middle School, High School, and then University or College. In Germany a child's 
future is decided in 4th grade. All German children start out in the Grundshule, which is like our Elementary
School, and in 4th grade the teacher decides which school the child goes to next, based on how smart the teacher 
thinks the child is. The Secondary 1 part of the diagram shows the the highest to lowest schools a child can 
be placed into. The Gymnasium is the most elite school, it is where the smartest children go and they are on the 
track to University. The Abitur is a test that a German needs to take and do well at in order to get into University.
it is like our ACT/SAT and AP tests combined, but more important and harder. The Hauptchule is the lowest 
school and children that attend this school have almost no chance in going to university and most end up working 
at factories. The Arrows in the diagram show different possibilities of where a child can go after finishing one 
school type. 

Pride in Your Country

Americans show lots of pride in their country, from the 4th of July to just saying we are proud to be American. We hang our flags high, say our national anthem before important events, and even say "The Pledge of Allegiance" in school.

In Germany it is different, after WW11 it has been hard to show pride in Germany with the fear of it being taken to far. For the German national anthem only one verse is said, the third, out of the original four, and German flags being hung is not very common. If a German show to much pride for Germany then they are at risk of being called a Nazi. Before 2006 almost no one had a flag in their backyard, but after Germany won the soccer cup, people found that they had something to be proud of in their country.

Germans show their pride though soccer now, they wear their favorite team's shirts and cheer for their team. 

below is the German National Anthem, after WW11 only the third verse is said and considered official.

Deutschland, Deutschland über alles,	Germany, Germany above all,
Über alles in der Welt,	Above everything in the world,
Wenn es stets zu Schutz und Trutze	When always, for protection,
Brüderlich zusammenhält,	We stand together as brothers.
Von der Maas bis an die Memel,	From the Maas to the Memel
Von der Etsch bis an den Belt -	From the Etsch to the Belt -
Deutschland, Deutschland über alles,	Germany, Germany above all
Über alles in der Welt.	Above all in the world.
Deutsche Frauen, deutsche Treue,	German women, German loyalty,
Deutscher Wein und deutscher Sang	German wine and German song,
Sollen in der Welt behalten	Shall retain in the world,
Ihren alten schönen Klang,	Their old lovely ring
Uns zu edler Tat begeistern	To inspire us to noble deeds
Unser ganzes Leben lang.	Our whole life long.
Deutsche Frauen, deutsche Treue,	German women, German loyalty,
Deutscher Wein und deutscher Sang	German wine and German song.
Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit	Unity and law and freedom
für das deutsche Vaterland!	For the German Fatherland
Danach lasst uns alle streben	Let us all strive for that
Brüderlich mit Herz und Hand!	In brotherhood with heart and hand!
Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit	Unity and law and freedom
Sind des Glückes Unterpfand;	Are the foundation for happiness
Blüh' im Glanze dieses Glückes,	Bloom in the glow of happiness
Blühe, deutsches Vaterland.	Bloom, German Fatherland.
Deutschland, Deutschland über alles,	Germany, Germany above all
Und im Unglück nun erst recht.	And in misfortune all the more.
Nur im Unglück kann die Liebe	Only in misfortune can love
Zeigen, ob sie stark und echt.	Show if it's strong and true.
Und so soll es weiterklingen	And so it should ring out
Von Geschlechte zu Geschlecht:	From generation to generation:
Deutschland, Deutschland über alles,	Germany, Germany above all,
Und im Unglück nun erst recht.	And in misfortune all the more.

Transportation

As stated earlier cars are smaller in Germany then in America, and the streets are narrower. Many people use public transportation to get around, such as the bus or subway, while others take bikes. Public transportation is easier to use, cleaner, and safer then in America. Children learn when they are younger how to take the public bus, because school buses are used only for the special children and in expensive private schools. I have seen 6 year olds riding the bus alone on their way to school with their packpacks and no parents. Instead of getting rides from your parents to and from places, which is commen in the U.S., in Germany you take the bus wherever you need to go or ride your bike. Exchange students that have come from Germany to America told me that on of the hardest thing to get used to was asking their host parents for a ride to their friends or other places.

At a first glance

The first things one might notice when they arrive in Germany is that everything is smaller compared to the U.S.

The streets are smaller, many being only 2 lanes, and with smaller streets that means the cars have to be smaller too. You will not see big SUVs driving around or big trucks driving around. But you will notice the same brands of cars that are in the U.S. like BMW, Corvette, ect.

You would notice similar fast food restaurants like McDonalds and Burger King, along with types of soda like coke, sprit, and fanta.  Portion sizes are smaller though, for example one can of soda here is like half a can in the U.S.

Grocery stores are smaller(usually smaller then a Walgreens in the U.S. and have less variety, such as in the U.S you can choose from around 30 different types of chips while in Germany it's more like 7), Malls, Stores, houses, rooms in houses are smaller.

The most interesting thing I found out though, is that almost all of the music played in Germany is American. Germans really like American music and listen to it on the radio, you rarely hear a German song played.