Mulled wine spiked with spices, festive fruit bread from the 15-century, and molten metal castings that predict the future—some of the world’s most treasured winter traditions originated in Germany. And there are many more to discover throughout the country, with fascinating seasonal cultural practices that stretch back centuries. We’ve collected a few diverse favorites, lovingly kept alive by locals to warm up the colder months. And if you’re ready to book your next trip, Lufthansa operates direct flights from 13 U.S. cities to Germany, making it easier than ever to plan the perfect German winter adventure.
BEAUTIFUL TREATS
1. Springerle
In Germany, plätzchen (traditional holiday cookies) come in all kinds of shapes, sizes, and flavors, but one of the most beloved are springerle.
During the winter season these anise-flavored cookies (made with just anise seeds, flour, baking powder, sugar, eggs, and vanilla) appear in bakeries, primarily in southern Germany, where they likely originated. Bearing elaborate designs created by carved molds or rolling pins, the cookies resemble brooches or ornaments. The dough is rolled out, stamped, and dried before baking, which helps keep their shape.
The origins of springerle have been traced back to at least the 14th century in southwestern Germany and the surrounding area; historical molds reveal that the cookies were once baked for a range of religious celebrations. The name itself means “little jumper” or “little knight” in the local dialect; this likely refers to a once-common jumping horse motif, or the way the dough rises, “springing up” as it bakes.
For some German families, molds are precious heirlooms, hand-carved and passed down through generations. Older designs featured animals as agrarian symbols of prosperity, or floral patterns like edelweiss. These days, more common springerle designs are Christmas motifs like trees and wreaths; Easter designs might feature bunnies and lambs. You can often find second-hand mold sets at antique shops.
PARTY PUNCH
2. Feuerzangenbowle
No festive drink gets holiday shindigs going quite like Feuerzangenbowle, which literally translates to “fire tongs punch”. Popular all winter long, it’s a concoction made inside a bowl set over a small burner. The bowl is filled with Glühwein (mulled red wine spiked with spices), and atop it lies a set of tongs or metal grate that holds a rum-soaked sugarloaf. When the chunk of sugar is set on fire, it melts and caramelizes, filling the room with a rich, toasty aroma—and infusing the punch with a delicious burnt-sugar flavor. Feuerzangenbowle is served in mugs, with the burner keeping the bowl warm until the very last drop.
“Party punch” is a particularly beloved ritual for German fraternities. In the merry season, the best place to try it is in the university city of Nuremberg, which every year serves up the largest Feuerzangenbowle in the world.
HAND-MADE HISTORY
3. Nutcrackers
Before Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker ballet, there was E.T.A. Hoffmann’s fairytale novella The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. Before that was a German woodworking innovation.
The contraption which inspired so much festive culture dates back to a 17th-century tool from the Erzgebirge (Ore Mountains). The region’s strong woodworking tradition, a result of challenging farming conditions, allegedly led to one carpenter coming up with a clever solution for cracking nuts. Craftsmen took a simple lever mechanism and began carving nutcrackers as intricate yet practical figurines resembling soldiers and kings, their powerful jaws symbolizing strength and good luck. By the 19th century, when nutcrackers became culturally referenced in prose and on stage, they had become popular as decorations and toys at Yuletide markets, though you’ll still find them also displayed and used year-round today.
SPINNING SPECTACLE
4. Christmas pyramids
The Weihnachtspyramide, or “Christmas pyramid,” is another piece of festive innovation by way of skilled woodworkers from the Ore Mountains. These multi-tiered, hand-carved, spinning wooden structures began as a cheery, candlelit table decoration to brighten long wintry nights in the 16th century. Glowing candles attached to the outer frame would emit hot air that rose and turned a rotor fan at the top, which caused each tier to spin.
The design is said to be inspired by pagan rituals that used candle light to celebrate the winter solstice. Over time, the addition of hand-carved religious figurines and nativity scenes turned the pyramids into a full-fledged Christian tradition. By the 19th century, they became a staple decoration in rural German settings, standing up to six feet tall in homes, and towering anywhere from 10 to 30 feet at outdoor Christmas markets.
Today, modern versions have a few more tricks: lights are electric, motors spin the pyramids, and some even feature animatronic elements. Emphasizing a cozy ambiance, Christmas pyramids are a staple of many German homes throughout the winter season.
ALL THAT GLITTERS
5. Glass ornaments
Nestled in the eastern Thuringian Forest, the alpine town of Lauscha is often considered the 19th-century birthplace of glass tree ornaments. Before this, trees in the region were decorated with natural items like fruits, nuts, handmade candles, and carved wooden figures. While Lauscha’s long-established glassmaking industry originated as early as the 1300s, it was glassblower Hans Greiner who likely crafted the first tree decorations in 1847. Greiner’s small treasures, shaped like the organic forms which inspired them, quickly gained popularity. They were a reusable alternative for times when economic hardships and harsh weather limited nature’s bounty. Early versions were modest in design, and sometimes nothing more than spherical balls. Later designs grew to include angels, stars, and icicles; especially as Greiner developed a technique for blowing silver nitrate and lead onto the ornaments adding extra reflective sparkle.
FABULOUS FRUITCAKE
6. Stollen
The history of stollen, Germany’s favorite festive fruit bread, stretches back to 15th-century Dresden, in Saxony. In olden times, stollen was a simple, unsweetened loaf made with just flour, water, and yeast to celebrate after fasting. The shape was said to resemble baby Jesus swaddled straight out of the nativity story.
Over time, Saxon bakers began enriching their stollen with the decadent likes of candied fruit, raisins, marzipan, and nuts, creating the treat we know today. There’s no better place to get a taste than at Dresden’s annual Stollenfest, where every year the world’s biggest stollen is prepared, paraded through the streets, and sold in thousands of slices for charity. The tradition of Dresden’s giant stollen dates back to 1730, when Augustus the Strong, the Elector of Saxony, requested the creation of a monumental loaf as a symbol of the region’s grand wealth and culinary prowess.
JOYFUL GENEROSITY
7. Nikolaus Day
In the 3rd-century city of Patara (now part of present-day Turkey), the bishop St. Nicholas made a lasting impression by performing miracles and charity, eventually becoming canonized. The day of his death, December 6th, became observed as a feast day to honor him, beginning during the Middle Ages and carrying into modern-day Europe.
Around the 18th century, it became customary on the evening of December 5th for children in Germany to leave their shoes out for St. Nicholas at night. In the morning, they would be filled with small gifts—today, the more traditional fruit and nuts have been replaced with sweets, money, and toys. On December 6th, “Saint Nicholas”, wearing a bishop’s mitre and holding a staff, would visit homes and schools to reward the well-behaved children with treats. In some places like southern Germany, however, he might be accompanied by the Knecht Ruprecht, a scary-looking companion threatening mischievous children with coal instead of gifts.
TEA TIME
8. East Frisian Tea Ceremonies
In the remote Lower Saxony region of East Frisia, a rich tea culture takes center stage during the winter season. During colder months, East Frisian homes warm their spirits by participating in tea ceremonies. Hosts place a piece of rock candy, called kluntje in the local dialect, at the bottom of cups of black (predominantly Assam) tea. The tea is then poured over the sugar, followed by a small dollop of whipping cream, which creates a visual effect known as wulkje (little cloud). The unique ritual, originating during the 19th century thanks to tea brought over by Dutch East India Company sailors, has endured due to East Frisia’s relative isolation and cold conditions. Germany’s tea association once estimated that the people of East Frisia consume more tea than anyone else in Germany.
EPIC COUNTDOWNS
9. Advent calendars
Advent calendars originated in Germany during the 19th century as a means of counting down the days of Advent, which begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas. Families would often mark each day by drawing lines with chalk on their doors or walls; others would hang up small pictures of the nativity story, or Bible verses, for each day.
The first printed Advent calendar is believed to have originated from a German printer named Gerhard Lang in 1851. Made of cardboard, it featured 24 small doors hiding pictures behind them. The idea quickly spread, hitting stores across Germany, with an upgrade in the 1950s when the historic confectionery company Niederegger introduced the first chocolate-filled Advent calendars.
POURING OUT
10. Bleigiessen
The New Year’s Eve custom of bleigiessen, or “lead pouring,” is an old divination practice once used for predictions of the new year. Popularized in the 19th century in central and southern Germany, families would pour the molten metal into cold water and make interpretations from its shapes—a heart could mean new love or marriage, stars suggested good fortune, while a snake might mean challenging times ahead. More often, though, shapes were unrecognizable forms, proving that even with careful examination, the future would be unpredictable.
By the 20th century, health risks associated with lead phased out the trend. Communities that still keep the bleigiessen tradition alive do so with alternative metals such as aluminum and tin.
