Greetings ,
People often ask me about the differences between Australia and Germany. Well, one of the big differences is the things German people do in the four weeks before Christmas.
Yes, these four weeks are also called 'Advent' in English. I can't speak for people in the United Kingdom or the United States. However, in Australia, we rarely talked about Advent or did anything special during it.
Here in Germany, there are two main things that a large number of people do during Advent that almost no one in Australia does. One is the Advent wreath (1). An Advent wreath is four candles on a tray or special candle holder, with pine branches and possibly other decorations placed around them.
The number of Advent wreaths I see each year still surprises me. It's big business for florists (2) and shops selling candles! People have them in their homes, and you can often find them in workplaces, too, even if the employees aren't allowed to light the candles!
This may shock you, but I can't remember ever seeing an Advent wreath (with candles) in Australia. Some people hung a Christmas wreath on their door, but that was all. There were no candles to light.
The other thing I see in Germany before Christmas (in November) is Advent Calendars. And they are so popular! I can't remember these in Australia when I was young. We never had one, and my friends at school didn't talk about them. I'm sure there were families from Germany or other parts of Europe who had them.
However, globalisation changed that. Big companies like Lindt or Chanel started selling Advent Calendars with samples of their products for each day. Although some people buy them, I think it's a far smaller percentage (3) than in Germany.
One year, my sister-in-law made an Advent calendar for her children. That was because making things yourself was popular and she had seen the idea somewhere. She only did it that one year; it didn't become a family tradition.
I guess you've had an Advent Calendar or two over the years, . Do you still get one every year? Do you have an Advent wreath, too? Have you ever had one?
Have a great week,
Andrea
(1) wreath - a circle of leaves/small branches
(2) florist - shop that sells flowers
(3) percentage - an amount given as a part of one hundred
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