From chewy candies to wooden handicrafts, expats in Germany visiting their families back home over the holidays have plenty of gifts to choose from. Here are some of the most popular items.
Image: Zoonar.com/Melinda Nagy/picture alliance
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When Katharina Rummenhöller visits her extended family in Peru for Christmas, her uncles, aunts and cousins give her their Christmas wish lists well before she leaves her home in Bonn.
There's one German item in particular that's always high on their list: Haribo candies. "My family writes to my father to tell him which Haribo varieties they want, because they either don't have them in Peru at all or they're very expensive," she explains.
That's why Rummenhöller and her father go to the factory outlet in Bonn before their trip to stock up for the journey. "It often feels like half the suitcase is full," she admits. Nonetheless, Rummenhöller and her father know the sweets are sure to bring plenty of Christmas joy.
Haribo gummy bears are a simple gift from GermanyImage: Eibner-Pressefoto/picture alliance
For many people, Christmas is associated with going home. As a holiday typically associated with the celebration of family, when loved ones live far away, the pre-Christmas period becomes a time to travel.
While travelers with families in Germany only have to travel a few cities further, others have to travel much further to see their friends, parents and siblings. Around 21.2 million people with migrant backgrounds live in Germany.
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Traditional German gifts?
Once a trip home has been booked, bringing back a souvenir from Germany is often essential. But what kinds of items are the most popular?
The German National Tourist Board offers various suggestions, like marzipan from the northern city of Lübeck. Another one is Stollen — bread with nuts, spices, and dried or candied fruit from Dresden. And then there's the famous Lebkuchen, Germany's gingerbread, from Nuremberg. The layered cake, Baumkuchen, and the so-called Bethmännchen, a pastry made from marzipan from Frankfurt, are also typical German specialties that make great sweet treats.
Holiday ornaments make popular German souvenirsImage: Maksim Nelioubin
But not every German present has to be edible. Germany has many popular decorative items such as traditional wooden nutcrackers or glass ornaments from the Ore Mountain region of Saxony. Artisans in the region also carve handmade incense smokers which are often modeled after the Weihnachtsmann, aka Father Christmas, or as miners, craftsmen, foresters and other local townsfolk of the Ore Mountain region. Incense is placed inside the small wooden figurines which then flows through a hole in its mouth. The holders symbolize the gift of incense the three kings brought to Jesus in the the biblical story of Christmas.
A brief history of the nutcracker doll
Invented over 150 years ago, the nutcracker is a typical Christmas decoration in Germany. Here's how it became the most famous figurine among many other traditional wooden decorations.
Image: Zoonar/picture alliance
A global phenomenon
Germany is a leading manufacturer of traditional nutcrackers. Today, the decorative Christmas figures are collected by people all over the world. While they have been around for ages, the wooden dolls only became popular in the US in the 1950s. The nutcracker acquired its iconic status through a globalized transmission of popular culture.
Image: Imago/robertharding
A famous ballet
The German author E.T.A. Hoffmann wrote the story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" in 1816. French writer Alexandre Dumas came up with his own adaptation of the story in 1844, which was then turned into a ballet by the Russian composer Tchaikovsky in 1892. Now a Christmas classic, the work contributed to the nutcracker's fame worldwide.
Image: Imago/United Archives International
Brothers Grimm symbolism
Jacob Grimm, the oldest of the famous Brothers Grimm, also wrote about nutcrackers in his treatise on Germanic mythology, "Deutsche Mythologie," from 1835. He described how wooden nutcrackers were carved as protective figures of strength and power. The grim-mouthed nutcrackers symbolized good luck. By baring their teeth, they were to protect homes by warding off evil spirits.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Another early German version
Heinrich Hoffmann, best known as the creator of the children's book "Der Struwwelpeter" (Shaggy Peter), also wrote his own version of E.T.A Hoffmann's story. Published in Germany in 1851, his illustrated tale was titled "King Nutcracker or The Dream of Poor Reinhold," and told the story of a poor child who dreams of the "Fairy Town of Toys" and meets the "Nutcracker King with royal jaws."
Image: picture-alliance/akg-images
The father of a global icon
Inspired by Heinrich Hoffman's version of the story, an Ore Mountain carver named Friedrich Wilhelm Füchtner created the iconic traditional nutcracker model by 1870 that later went into serial production — which is why he became known as the "father of the nutcracker." The family business in Seiffen is now being run by the eighth generation of Füchtners.
Image: Original Füchtner
From a mining region
There are many traditional nutcracker producers in the Ore Mountain region, which makes up the natural borderland between Germany and the Czech Republic. Initially attracting miners, the forested area with long, dark winters also inspired villagers to develop other carved wooden decorations: Christmas pyramids, candle holders called Schwibbogen, and smoking figures known as Räuchermännchen.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/W. Thieme
Generations of soldiers
Mass production of the nutcracker doll in the region started in the late 19th century, but wooden figures used to crack nuts were already created in Europe for centuries. The right picture features a model dating back to ca. 1650, along with one of the first typical Ore Mountain region figurines from 1870. Left and center are more recent models, depicting a Swiss knight and an American soldier.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/W. Thieme
Creative wood carvers
By the 1700s, Austrian, Italian and Swiss carvers were making animal and human-shaped nutcrackers. No one knows who came up with the idea. According to legend, a rich farmer who was too lazy to crack his own nuts promised to reward his entire village if anyone came up with a solution. A carver created a colorful puppet that could crack nuts with its jaws. The Napoleon figure (center) is from 1822.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Sauer
Cracking up
Traditional nutcrackers typically took on the attributes of figures of authority, such as kings, soldiers, forest guards or policemen. During the Christmas season, the poor could celebrate their hard year of work by having the nutcrackers break nuts at their command — a satisfactory act of political subversion. These newer models depict politicians Bill Clinton, Helmut Kohl and Gerhard Schröder.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/K. Nietfeld
Traditional and modern souvenirs
The largest German producer of traditional nutcrackers is Steinbach. After WWII, the family business quickly grew by developing contacts with US soldiers based in the Hanover area who brought back nutcrackers to their families as original German souvenirs. The company develops new collectible models every year, and Darth Vader is among the 350 figures they have on offer.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/E. Wabitsch
Beware of cheap imitations
Nearly 130 production steps are needed to create a traditional handmade Ore Mountain nutcracker. Each one has up to 60 parts which are made of locally sourced spruce and beech wood. The beard and hair is usually rabbit fur. The carved nutcrackers are then painted. Original pieces from the Ore Mountains typically cost at least €70 ($80). Some cost way more depending on quality, size and brand.
Image: Original Füchtner
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A popular German concept
Did you know that the Advent calendar is a German invention?
The person credited with inventing the printed Advent calendar in the early 20th century is German publisher Gerhard Lang, who was said to be inspired by his mom sewing 24 cookies into the lid of a box and letting him eat one each day of Advent.
Since then, the tradition has become popular around the world with Advent calendars being mass produced. As Christmas has become an increasingly commercial celebration, Advent calendars have adapted to hold anything from jewelry and cosmetics to beer. Advent calendars are popular all over the globe, including in the US.
Clemence Boullu is originally from France, but works as a soprano in Germany. When she visits her family during Christmas, she likes to bring Stollen, gingerbread spices or cookie cutters. "Sometimes beer too!" she laughs. It may not be the most Christmassy of drinks, but it is certainly a German specialty.
For Andrea Conangla, whose parents live in Portugal, Christmas tree decorations and traditional wooden toys are a must when picking out gifts to take home.
"My girlfriend's family comes from Spain," says Alexander Bos from Düsseldorf. "I made a small package of Santas for them. There was also an Advent calendar. Both were very well received."
A typical smoking man expelling incense smoke from his mouthImage: picture alliance/dpa/P. Pleul
Christmas market inspiration
Germany's many Christmas markets are ideal places to shop for holiday goods. With sometimes hundreds of vendors selling handmade crafts and artisanal gifts, there's a lot to choose from.
Even the mugs serving the typical mulled wine, Glühwein, make great souvenirs. Each market has unique mugs printed for each annual edition of the festival, often with Christmas-themed images.
Cecilia Seo-Brüntgens, originally from Korea, likes to bring back Christmas market mugs when she visits her family back home. German-style Christmas markets have now also found their way into global metropolises like London, New York City and Singapore.
Germany may be the origin of many Christmas traditions, but a good gift doesn't always have to be traditional. When German-resident Sara Glojnaric visits her family in Croatia on Christmas Eve, she always has one thing in her suitcase: "Aperol from the airport or an XXL pack of Kinder chocolate. For me, the ultimate symbol of the West."
