Christmas is coming in 359 days! Here’s a sneak preview of what’s to come …
(Since when has GK picked up his sixth sense? He’s probably just rehashing some photos from last Christmas, right?)
Some of German’s Christmas customs are quite new to me. One can feel Christmas coming from early December when everyone is counting down to the big day. A common way is to use an Advent Calendar; as each day passes, peel open the little compartment for that day and eat the chocolate inside. I haven’t done such a good job counting down as I still have some chocolate left!
Christmas markets also start at the turn of December. There were quite a few in Munich of varying scales. My friend and I chose to visit the two at Englischer Garten (English Garden) and at Schwabing. The Englischer Garten featured many stalls selling pretty Christmas decorations and nifty household items, including many things that I’ve never seen before. How I wish I had enough space for a Christmas tree in my flat and decorated it completely with those little gems! The Schwabing market, in contrast, was more like a market for art and craft, but it was still nice to see so much artwork on display. The Christmas markets generally don’t sell the pine trees for Christmas, though. There are other markets for those trees.
The shops also decorate their windows during Christmas as a matter of course. At Englischer Garten, as well as a departmental store in the main shopping street of Stuttgart (Königstrasse), we saw some impressive Lego displays to our pleasant surprise! We haven’t seen or played with Lego for ages, let alone giant Lego models. We took ample time to marvel at them before moving on. Who said Lego is for kids only? Kidults love them too!
I’m sure there’s still a lot of German Christmas customs out there to be discovered. Watch this space next year for an update!
聖誕還有359日便到，現在讓我預告今年聖誕會是怎樣吧！
（嘻嘻，難道我真的有特異功能？相信你也猜到以下其實是去年聖誕的照片！）
德國有些聖誕習俗是挺新鮮的，甫踏入十二月人人都開始倒數了，最常見的方式，就是用一個倒數日曆，每過一天便掏當日格子內的巧克力，不過我可沒這個恆心，至今仍沒有吃完。
聖誕市集也是十二月初開市，形式有點像農曆新年的年宵市場。慕尼黑有好幾個不同規模的，我和朋友逛了兩個，分別位於英國花園（Englischer Garten）及Schwabing區，前者擺了不少售賣小玩意及聖誕飾物的攤位，甚有特色，我也恨不得家中有位放置聖誕樹，一樹都掛滿那些飾物！後者則較像藝術墟市，我們也祇有看的份兒。不過聖誕市集不像年宵市場一樣有年花賣，要買聖誕松樹者則另有其市場。
商店少不免會裝飾一番，以別緻的窗櫥吸引顧客和遊人，在英國花園及斯圖加特購物街某百貨公司的窗櫥，便有樂高積木砌成的佈置，我和朋友實在太久沒看過樂高了，而且還是大型展品，興奮莫名，看了好一會才捨得離去，樂高無論對小孩或大小孩，一樣仍有吸引力！
德國其他聖誕傳統，仍有待發掘，明年再看此網誌，且有分解！
My Advent Calendar
我的聖誕倒數日曆
The Christmas market at the Chinese tower of English Garden.
英國花園的聖誕市集，位於園內的中式塔樓。
The Christmas market at Schwabing, now in its 30th year.
Schwabing的聖誕市集，今年已是第30年。
Christmas decorations of the shops in Munich (left) and Heidelberg (right).
商店的聖誕裝飾：慕尼黑（左）及海德堡（右）。
Lego, how we miss you! (Above from English Garden, below from Stuttgart.)
久違了，樂高模型！（上：英國花園、下：斯圖加特）
(Since when has GK picked up his sixth sense? He’s probably just rehashing some photos from last Christmas, right?)
Some of German’s Christmas customs are quite new to me. One can feel Christmas coming from early December when everyone is counting down to the big day. A common way is to use an Advent Calendar; as each day passes, peel open the little compartment for that day and eat the chocolate inside. I haven’t done such a good job counting down as I still have some chocolate left!
Christmas markets also start at the turn of December. There were quite a few in Munich of varying scales. My friend and I chose to visit the two at Englischer Garten (English Garden) and at Schwabing. The Englischer Garten featured many stalls selling pretty Christmas decorations and nifty household items, including many things that I’ve never seen before. How I wish I had enough space for a Christmas tree in my flat and decorated it completely with those little gems! The Schwabing market, in contrast, was more like a market for art and craft, but it was still nice to see so much artwork on display. The Christmas markets generally don’t sell the pine trees for Christmas, though. There are other markets for those trees.
The shops also decorate their windows during Christmas as a matter of course. At Englischer Garten, as well as a departmental store in the main shopping street of Stuttgart (Königstrasse), we saw some impressive Lego displays to our pleasant surprise! We haven’t seen or played with Lego for ages, let alone giant Lego models. We took ample time to marvel at them before moving on. Who said Lego is for kids only? Kidults love them too!
I’m sure there’s still a lot of German Christmas customs out there to be discovered. Watch this space next year for an update!
聖誕還有359日便到，現在讓我預告今年聖誕會是怎樣吧！
（嘻嘻，難道我真的有特異功能？相信你也猜到以下其實是去年聖誕的照片！）
德國有些聖誕習俗是挺新鮮的，甫踏入十二月人人都開始倒數了，最常見的方式，就是用一個倒數日曆，每過一天便掏當日格子內的巧克力，不過我可沒這個恆心，至今仍沒有吃完。
聖誕市集也是十二月初開市，形式有點像農曆新年的年宵市場。慕尼黑有好幾個不同規模的，我和朋友逛了兩個，分別位於英國花園（Englischer Garten）及Schwabing區，前者擺了不少售賣小玩意及聖誕飾物的攤位，甚有特色，我也恨不得家中有位放置聖誕樹，一樹都掛滿那些飾物！後者則較像藝術墟市，我們也祇有看的份兒。不過聖誕市集不像年宵市場一樣有年花賣，要買聖誕松樹者則另有其市場。
商店少不免會裝飾一番，以別緻的窗櫥吸引顧客和遊人，在英國花園及斯圖加特購物街某百貨公司的窗櫥，便有樂高積木砌成的佈置，我和朋友實在太久沒看過樂高了，而且還是大型展品，興奮莫名，看了好一會才捨得離去，樂高無論對小孩或大小孩，一樣仍有吸引力！
德國其他聖誕傳統，仍有待發掘，明年再看此網誌，且有分解！
My Advent Calendar
我的聖誕倒數日曆
The Christmas market at the Chinese tower of English Garden.
英國花園的聖誕市集，位於園內的中式塔樓。
The Christmas market at Schwabing, now in its 30th year.
Schwabing的聖誕市集，今年已是第30年。
Christmas decorations of the shops in Munich (left) and Heidelberg (right).
商店的聖誕裝飾：慕尼黑（左）及海德堡（右）。
Lego, how we miss you! (Above from English Garden, below from Stuttgart.)
久違了，樂高模型！（上：英國花園、下：斯圖加特）
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