A few years ago, while researching German Christmas practices, I picked up a book called “The Old Magic of Christmas” by Linda Raedisch. And then I found another of Linda’s books, “Night of the Witches,” about Walpurgisnacht. But it’s her latest book, “The Secret History of Christmas Baking : Recipes and Stories, from Tomb Offerings to Gingerbread Boys” that is my favorite. Food history has always fascinated me, and I’ve often wondered how traditional foods and flavors were assigned to holidays. We connect German Lebkuchen with the Christmas Season, but why? Spices like cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and cardamom don’t come from Germany, yet they’ve gone into baked goods there for almost 1000 years, and now we can’t imagine Christmas without those flavors. Linda Raedisch explains all that and more.
I contacted Linda to find out more about her. With a name like Raedisch and so many German connections in her books, there has to be a story. And there is! Linda grew up with German parents, learned some of the language, and visited her German Oma yearly. I asked my new friend a few questions about how she came to write these books.
A Look at the Old Magic with Author Linda Raedisch
Did you grow up speaking German?
“My mom taught me and my sister a few words when we were little, especially words with u umlaut and “ch,” cause those can be tough if you don’t learn them young. She came to the U.S, when she was 17, so by the time we were born, she was very comfortable with English and didn’t speak German on a daily basis anymore. She took us to Germany every other summer, starting when I was six. That and a few years of Saturday morning adult classes got me good enough that I could take part in dinner table conversations, but communicating outside the family was still pretty rough. I rose to the challenge and started binge-watching old episodes of Alarm für Cobra 11. I watched my favorite episodes over and over and kept a notebook of new words and phrases. I follow a lot of Germans on social media, so I’m hearing at least some German every day. Now I’m learning Plattdeutsch, too, which is what my maternal great grandparents would have spoken., My father’s parents were from near Dresden, so he spoke Sächsisch at home. He and my mother always spoke English to each other because, according to my mother, Sächsisch is unintelligible, I only ever picked up a few words of Sächsisch. I sent my daughter to German Saturday school, too, because I knew how important it was for her to be able to speak, especially when she went to Germany on her own. She lives in New Mexico now but keeps up her German on Duolingo. It’s a mystery how much German my son knows. He’s been plunged into a lot of wall-to-wall German situations, and he seems to understand just about all of it, but we rarely hear him speak it. He prefers Korean.”
Your books “The Old Magic of Christmas” and “The Lore of Old Elfland” feature old stories and legends. Did your mother read German Fairy Tales and Legends to you?
The only one I remember her actually reading to us was the story of Snow White and Rose Red in our big World Fairy Tales book. We had Die Heinzelmaenchen, but it was in German, so I could only look at the pictures; my mom explained the story. She told us the story of Frau Holle, too. But mostly, she told us stories about growing up in Lübeck. She was born in 1937, so a lot of them were wartime stories.
And which is your favorite legend or story?
I’ve always loved the Mainzelmännchen! You know, those little guys in caps and overalls who came on during the commercials on ZDF? I would really look forward to seeing them when we watched TV at my grandmother’s in Kiel. Language wasn’t a barrier because the Mainzelmännchen didn’t really speak any language. Every time we went to Germany until we were teenagers, my sister and I got to pick out one little rubber Mainzelmänchen doll at the newsstand down the street from my grandmother’s apartment. We ended up with eight altogether, and I am now their guardian. In fact, I’m looking at them right now as I write. The Mainzelmänchen apparently used to hide candy for my cousins in my grandmother’s apartment, but no one ever saw them. And they never hid any for me and my sister, I guess cause we were older. I never held this against the Mainzelmännchen; I figured it was because they didn’t know my sister and I were coming. Yes, the Mainzelmännchen are a modern tradition, but my grandmother had cast them in the role of the old household spirits.
(This makes me smile, as does the idea of modern elves being cast into the role of household spirits. That could be where Linda’s love of legendary beings came from. In “The Lore of Old Elfland,” she talks about walking in the Lüneberger Heide and searching for traces of elves.)
In “The Secret History of Christmas Baking,” you describe Christmas bakes from around Europe. What German Christmas Recipe do you consider a must?
There are so many different ways to be German that I couldn’t say which recipe is a must. For our family, it’s Lebkuchen, Stollen, and Linzertorte, or at least Linzer thumbprint cookies. You gotta have nuts! You gotta have spices! (That said, my daughter once made wheat germ Linzer tarts for a friend who couldn’t eat nuts.) Whatever you make, it’s also about timing. In our family, the Linzertorte doesn’t get cut until Christmas Eve, and the first slice of Stollen is served on Christmas morning.
Finally, you spend much time describing the origins of many of our favorite spices, such as ginger, vanilla, nutmeg, etc. Which is your favorite spice?
“Cardamom comes from India, but to me it’s the most German of Christmas spices. You find ginger, cinnamon, and allspice in American gingerbread, but not cardamom. And you can’t make Stollen without it!”
“Another thought about baking- I think of German Christmas baking not just as something that needs to get done but as something to do. If you don’t enjoy the doing of it, either alone or with friends and family, then you’re probably better off having fun shopping for your Lebkuchen and Stollen. Here in America, I hear people talking about making a big batch of Christmas cookies in November and freezing them for later as if it’s a chore to be gotten over with. Most German cookies are made ahead of time, too, but they’re not frozen; they’re sealed in tins to let the spices and, extracts, and flavors of the peel coalesce. It’s a ritual, and it’s not one I would ever want to rush through.”
I like the idea of baking as a ritual—the rhythm, the recipes, the time and attention spent creating something special for your family to enjoy. And Christmas, with all the magic surrounding it, is the perfect time for those rituals.
Thank you again Linda for sharing your time and your stories with us.
A little more about the books by Linda Raedisch.
All of the books are packed with interesting information. But they aren’t written like textbooks! Linda writes in a relatable style that makes it feel more like you are getting information from a master storyteller than a lecturer. An added bonus for crafty people is that most chapters end with a fun activity or craft, and many recipes are scattered throughout the books.
“The Secret History of Christmas Baking: Recipes & Stories from Tomb Offerings to Gingerbread Boys”
Don’t let the Tomb Offerings scare you. The book is filled with traditional Christmas bakes from around the world. You’ll find stories & recipes relating to Stollen and Linzertorte, which are traditional in Linda’s home, and you’ll also find Marzipan Potatoes, Pfefferkuchen, and Spekulaas. Even the ingredients we consider common today, like sugar, were once ‘special’. An entire chapter covers the history of the spices and flavorings we associate with Christmas, including Rose Water, which Linda uses in her homemade Marzipan. This is the perfect book for anyone who loves food history and baking. (I have a special love for this book since I’m referenced in the bibliography… what an honor!)
Secret History of Christmas Baking: Recipes & Stories from Tomb Offerings to Gingerbread Boys
“The Old Magic of Christmas: Yuletide Traditions for the Darkest Days of the Year.”
In Northern Europe, Fall and Winter can get pretty dark. The book begins with St Martin’s Day, November 11, and ends on Candlemass, February 2. Elves, Sprites, Witches, and St. Nicholas’s companions appear in this fascinating book about old beliefs, legends, and superstitions. While the book is not strictly about only German Christmas customs, you’ll find Krampus, the Perchten, Frau Holle, and Knecht Ruprecht. Christmas figures I’ve gotten to know better over the years. You’ll also learn about Tomten, the Icelandic Yule Cat (my new favorite), and the First Footers on the British Isles. Many of the old ways didn’t vanish; they just got absorbed into new traditions. This book remembers the old Christmas’s and the balance between darkness and light. This darkness isn’t evil, it’s just an acknowledgement that with good things like presents, you need to behave!
The Old Magic of Christmas: Yuletide Traditions for the Darkest Days of the Year
Night of the Witches: Folklore, Traditions & Recipes for Celebrating Walpurgis Night
Witches have always played a strong part in German legends and Fairy Tales, and some of the darker parts of German medieval history relate to the Witch trials. We can’t deny that witches are a part of German cultural history. On Walpurgisnacht, April 30, all the witches are said to fly to the Brocken in the Harz for their most sacred night. This book covers the folklore associated with witches and shares many crafts, recipes, and activities. It is perfect for anyone who wants to celebrate Walpurgisnacht!
Night of the Witches: Folklore, Traditions & Recipes for Celebrating Walpurgis Night
The Lore of Elfland: Secrets from the Bronze Age to Middle Earth
The Lore of Elfland was the first book from Linda Raedisch. It centers more on Nordic traditions, but there is some bleed-through to Germany. It opens with a walk through the Lüneberger Heide, where a younger Linda, deeply enthralled by Tolkien, goes looking for Elves. (That connection makes perfect sense; Tolkien borrowed heavily from Germanic mythology, including using many Germanic names in his Lord of the Rings series.) Most elf and dwarf lore come from Scandinavia, but you will learn about German elves like the Klauterbautermann. There are herbal recipes, crafts, and instructions for making Birch soap. If you love elves and dwarves or have an affinity for Tolkien, this book is perfect.
The Lore of Old Elfland: Secrets from the Bronze Age to Middle Earth
Thanks again to Linda for sharing her knowledge of German Folklore and Traditions with us!