WEIHNACHTSMANN WEIHNACHTSBAUM Part of Our Christmas Tradition This article was presented by Marcia J. Shortreed of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo's Heritage Resources. Telling the story of Christmas is like peeling away centuries of wallpapers. Here in Canada, extra layers have been added as the traditions of the various European nations have been accepted into the way of life. To residents of Waterloo Region of German ancestry, Christmas is Weihnachten symbolized by the Christkindl, Advent wreaths and calendars and the beautiful Christmas tree.

Germany is land of forest and the German character in literature and music has always been linked to the mysteries of the woodlands. It is no wonder that the evergreen tree became linked to the nativity of Christ. Legend has it that Martin Luther brought a small tree into his home and decorated it with candles and glittering decorations to teach his children about the shining starry skies on the night when Christ was born. The first actual written description of a Christmas tree came in 1605 from Strasburg, "they set up fir trees in the parlours and hang theron paper roses, apples, wafers, gold foil and sweets". Later the Christmas tree became part of the literature of Goethe and Schiller. The Weihnachtsbaum Christmas tree became part of every German home by the nineteenth century. In the towns throughout Germany, Christkindlsmarkts in the marketplace were set up at the beginning of Advent. Hundreds of fir trees were offered for sale by women wearing their treasured regional costumes. The surrounding stalls offered all manner of candles, wooden toys, glass ornaments and sweets to hand on the tree. The Nuremberg market was famous for its gingerbread made into shapes to hang on the tree; And the gold angel who greeted visitors to the market became a tradition. The lifesize angel was always played by a child, but the angel was reproduced by the toymakers and became a traditional ornament to hang at the top of the tree in countless homes. It is believed that the gold angel represents the Christ child in the nativity and miracle plays of medieval times. German Canadians often put a candle in the window on Christmas Eve to welcome the Christkindl who will bring presents to the children. As time went on in North America and as popular literature became widely read, the figure of the Christkindl became confused with other gift bearing figures such as the Dutch Sinterklaas and the English Father Christmas. Pennsylvania Germans had a Belsnickle or Peltznickle who wore a fur coat, a mask and a beard and rattled chains or jingled bells and chased children who have forgotten to say their prayers. Saxon Germans in Kitchener had the Weihnachtsmann, a green coated figure with a beard who carried a small fir tree on his shoulder. By the early twentieth century all of these had been distilled into the American Santa Claus whose figure came to life in the drawings of Thomas Nast in Harpers Weekly (1863-1886).

This article was originally published in Cross Cultures Magazine in Volume 1 - Issue 2 - 1992. Unauthorized copying, distribution or other usage without express written permission of the publisher is prohibited.