Is Christmas Eve also a day early in Germany?

So tomorrow is the main event in Germany. Everybody gets their present and then they watch "Dinner for One". So is today Christmas Eve for Germans.

Are you zidane?

Hic, no.

Dinner for one is on new years eve.

What's on German telly tomorrow? The Chancellor's speech?

Dunno, check your tv programme, I am going to see the Queens speech on tuesday.

The question was really what the Germans traditionally watch on Dec 24. I'm glad to see you uphold British traditions.

Well, I am not really upholding the british tradition I will watch it out of curiosity to be honest. I noticed that the tv is pretty much the same in Germsville and the UK. Some Zeichentrick (Shrek, find Nemo) in the afternoon for the kids, and some action (Die Hard) for the adults in the evening. I personally didn't bother much with tv on the 24. it was more important to me to spend that day with my family.

Another traditonal movie around christmas time is National Lampoons or The little Lord (think that's the english title?) Can't think of any more at the mo.

Edit: Scrooge is another that just came into my mind

They all watch "dinner for one"? I thought it was just my future in-laws who did that...

Weinachten is indeed a strange event. I intend on surviving mine by drinking a lot.

No today is not Christmas Eve, Christmas Eve is tomorrow! (Actually now it is today, as it is already past 1am.)

And watching Dinner for One is a German tradition, but not just German, it is shown for New Year's Eve in several countries. It also doesn't mean it is a tradition practiced by all.

No clue what we'll watch tomorrow, if anything, depends on what's on TV, I don't think there is a typical Christmas movie that Germans watch every year, but I could be wrong.

I didn't know about the Dinner for one thing. just got confirmation from the hubby that yes it is a german thing. We all get together at home and watch things like "it's a wonderful life" or "A Christmas Story" and what is with doing the christmas stuff on christmas eve. takes the fun out of christmas morning. i wanna go home.

Well, for you it does. But for Germans the fun was always in Christmas Eve, and moving it to Christmas Morning would take the fun out of Christmas Eve. There never was any fun in Christmas Morning that you could take out of it. Besides when I was little we used to go to my grandma for Christmas Day for lunch so we would get more presents there.

i'm sorry mariposa for being grumpy...i know different culture...i just miss being home for the holidays. wish all of you a merry christmas.

I can understand that. I wouldn't wanna spend Christmas away from home. Hopefully you will find the joy in the German Christmas tradition too! Maybe you could convince your husband to split presents up between tomorrow night and Christmas morning, to combine both of your traditions. Just leave some presents for Christmas morning! A German I know who is married to an American, her family splits up the presents, their kids get two on Christmas Eve and the rest on Christmas morning.
And ask your hubby to watch some Christmas movies with you. Maybe you cannot watch exactly these two but maybe some others? That is what I would try. Merry Christmas to you too!

yeah we've thought about that but it would put father in law and the others in a bad mood. will suffer this year and then next year when they are all in the states to see us we can do it our way. muwwuhaha!!! ha just kidding it won't be that mean. but then they can see the difference of the culture too. i just miss my family and am looking forward to having everyone together again under one roof. the uncles wrestling with all the young ones and everyone talking at the top of their lungs to be heard over everyone else. i miss hugs...we are huggers and here you get a hand shake. my father in law always looks at me weird when i try to give him a hug. lol. my mom didn't hug him because of the barrier thing when we went to the states in august and he followed her around for a few minutes with his arms out while she hugged everyone else to death. he didnt want to offend her. lol. i had to say "mom, give the man a hug he's waiting" lol. tear tear. my family is nuts. lol.

Haha sounds like a great family! Some of my relatives are only hand-shakers too, oh well... that is the way they are. I can hug my parents, brother and friends.
It's sad that your father in law and the rest would not want to have a German-American Christmas, but I guess many people are not very embracing of cultural traditions different from their own. I hope you can enjoy tomorrow knowing that next year you'll have Christmas the American way.

So the Christmas markets have closed and all the shops, restaurants and pubs will close shortly. Whoooppppeeee. It's Christmas...bugger there's nothing to do.

Try and find where I hid all the presents and then wrap them is what I'm up to.

Done all that and I've stuffed turkey. Oh, well, best get on with the eating and drinking, I suppose.

Whilst I've been here before for Christmas, last time we turned up at the in-laws in Ulm last minute. This time we were a bit earlier, so I was surprised to find they only put the tree up yesterday. We've had ours up for a couple of weeks already, and I thought that was late. Apparently it's fish fondue tonight. Presents will be opened at 6pm. Not sure if that's got to be on the dot, but it's still over 12 hours early in my book!

None of that nonsense in my household. Christmas presents will be opened on 25th in the morning. I find it funny that German kids open their presents and then it's time for bed. Although the kids banging on my door at 4.00am Christmas morning asking "Can we open the presents now?" is a big pain.

Yeah, even my wife agreed that it's more practical for the kids to get the presents in the morning, but tradition is tradition. When we have kids we will probably do our best to mix the traditions i.e. some presents on Christmas Eve and some on Christmas Day.

EDIT : Ask them where their traditions come from and they won't be able to answer. They just seem to accept their traditions and never question them.

I'm not going to eat bloody potato salad this evening and my Christmas tree is looking droopy because it's been up for weeks.


Stand your ground. Don't comprimise. Before you know it you'll be singing a song before you open a present.

Know exactly where you are coming from the only difference is I miss Germany and would love to see my family again after 2 and a half years. Have a merry christmas and make the best of it.

PS: The idea about keeping some pressies for the 25. is a good idea, keep some of your traditions up too, so it won't feel too strange.

So do you apparently. Do you know where your tradition comes from?

Seriously you not wanting to compromise is not any better than a German not wanting to compromise. What makes you think your tradition is the better or right one?

All this arguing which cultural tradition is better or which dialect is better, which regional English is righter... it's just sad, and shows that someone didn't get something. There does not have to be a hierarchy in cultural traditions, they are different but neither is better than the other, and the beauty about German and American Christmas is you can combine the two if you are willing to.

By the way, most Germans have plenty to do for today... like decorating the Christmas tree. That is what I will do today.

Something I won't be doing, being English.

But yeah, at least in Britain, the Christmas tree tradition comes from Germany, courtesy of PrinzPrince Albert and Queen Victoria.

The tradition of turkey at Christmas in Britain is relatively recent, and came from America - before that it was goose (as in "Christmas is a-coming and the goose is getting fat").

The British version of Father Christmas has been around for a few centuries, but the depiction of him has been heavily influenced in recent times by America, such that he no longer wears green robes, but red.

I said American because I do not even know what the English tradition is. If it is like the American one as far as when you get to open the presents, you can also combine the German and English traditions.

Just fooling with you. Just because it's Christmas doesn't mean we can't have a bit of Brit vs. American hostility in with all that goodwill.

Yeah what would the world be without that...

Quite right, of course. Enjoy putting your tree up today, your bangers and potato salad, coffee and cake, opening your 1 Christmas present, listening to traditional Christmas songs and your duck and dumplings without party hats tomorrow.

We do not have potato salad tomorrow, or duck and dumplings. Or coffee and cake for that matter. No traditional songs or one present either.

Well have a great Christmas all the same.

Thank you, you too!