German legends

Eisheiligen in Germany – The German Ice Saints of May

May 13, 2022

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German legends

There’s a good reason why all Germans carry an Allwetterjacke (all weather jacket), German weather can fool you. One moment you bask under a warm sun in the local Biergarten, and the next you need to pull on your sweater. Especially in May, when after a long Winter of cold dreary weather everyone seeks the […]

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Ostara and Easter- A Legend that May be Younger than You Think

Ostara and Easter- A Legend that May be Younger than You Think

April 11, 2022

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German Easter Traditions

While digging in to stories about Easter in Germany, I frequently come across references to the Germanic pagan goddess Ostara. In fact, Ostara and Easter appear to be so entwined, that even the word Ostern (Easter) comes from this goddess of Spring. And sources attribute many of the non-religious Easter symbols like eggs and rabbits […]

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Eisheiligen in Germany – The German Ice Saints of May

Schutzengel- Guardian Angels in Germany

March 23, 2022

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German legends

A few years ago when I learned to drive, my cousin gave me a sticker that said, “Fahr nicht schneller als dein Schutzengel fliegen kann!” (Don’t drive faster than your guardian angel can fly). She firmly believes in Schutzengel, and as someone who tends to be a little clumsy, I really like the idea of […]

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Eisheiligen in Germany – The German Ice Saints of May

Frau Holle- Grimm Fairy Tale, Legend, and Goddess

February 17, 2022

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German legends

, Frau Holle Cover Image- Nickge4, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons When it snows in Hessen, people say that Frau Holle shakesg out her feather beds. And thanks to Grimm’s Fairy Tales, we all have an image in our minds of imagine an old woman airing her bedding out the window. But the story […]

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Eisheiligen in Germany – The German Ice Saints of May

Rauhnächte- In Germany, it’s the Time Between the Years

December 30, 2021

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German legends

My mother’s Oma refused to do laundry during the Twelve Days of Christmas. To me, this makes perfect sense, the Christmas Season is just so busy… who wants to do laundry? But the reason goes deeper, to the legends of the Rauhnacht.  The Rauhnächte, the time between the years, are a time when old memories […]

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Eisheiligen in Germany – The German Ice Saints of May

The Linden tree in Germany – The Tree at the Heart of Germany

September 3, 2021

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German History

A friend sent me a clip from a news story out of West Virginia about the removal of a Linden Tree. What made him curious was not the toys found under the tree… it was the tree itself. This special tree was the last survivor of three Linden trees brought to the United States by […]

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German Museums and Cultural Heritage Centers in North America

What is Frau Perchta? Goddess or Belly-Slitter?

January 8, 2021

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German Holidays and Festivals

Deep in the Alpine region of Germany, the Christmas Season is bookended by two frightening beings, Krampus who roams on December 5th, and Frau Perchta is associate with Berchentag, the Feast of the Epiphany, January 6th. But Who is Frau Perchta? Or WHAT is Frau Perchta? Is she an evil hag who kills lazy women […]

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Eisheiligen in Germany – The German Ice Saints of May

German Good Luck Symbols- We Could All Use a Little Luck

December 30, 2020

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Celebrating German Culture in America

In Germany, especially around Christmas and the New Year you see them everywhere… Toadstool ornaments, Chimney Sweet figures, Marzipan Piggies with coins or 4 Leaf Clover in their mouths. These German good luck symbols didn’t just come out of nowhere… they all have history and legend to explain why they are lucky. Some luck charms […]

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German Museums and Cultural Heritage Centers in North America

Rübezahl! The legendary Silesian Lord of the Mountains!

September 4, 2020

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Children's Books

A small scale disaster hit our house last week in the form of a flood (ok, it was just an unnoticed spill). The only thing really wrecked? A box of my old childhood Albums. As I pulled them out one by one, it broke my heart a little bit. Mold had already started to set […]

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Eisheiligen in Germany – The German Ice Saints of May

What is the Vogelhochzeit? It’s a song to Welcome Spring!

April 16, 2020

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Celebrating German Culture in America

Germans do love to sing, and they especially love their Folk songs. One of my favorite German Folk Songs is the Vogelhochzeit. In German School I loved singing the fi-de-ralala part over and over. And with so many verses, the song can go on longer than the Twelve days of Christmas! (I have a feeling […]

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German Museums and Cultural Heritage Centers in North America