Traditions and customs around Christmas time
Advent and Christmas
A TIME OF REFLECTION…
On the 1st Sunday in Advent, an Advent crown is put up in homes and churches. This is woven from fir branches and decorated with four candles and bows.
A few days before Christmas, the Christmas crib is set up in people’s homes. Wooden or clay figures depict the situation of the biblical Christmas story: The holy family with Joseph and Mary and the baby Jesus in the manger in a stable.
On Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve and Epiphany, people smoke incense in South Tyrolean homes. During these three nights of incense burning, the family walks through the house with a pan full of embers into which incense is sprinkled, praying to ask for a blessing for the house and the family.
Caroling
A SMALL SIGN OF CHARITY.
Every year at the beginning of the year, thousands of children and young people travel the country as carol singers.
Just as the wise men from the East once came to Jesus in his manger, the carol singers go from house to house as the kings Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar. The star, which led the three kings back then, must not be missing. The carol singers sing their songs, distribute incense and ask for a donation for those who are less fortunate. The money collected benefits numerous aid projects in various countries.
As ambassadors of charity, the carol singers bring the true splendor of Christmas into the homes of South Tyrol.
New Year’s greetings
A VERY SPECIAL WAY OF WISHING GOOD LUCK.
On New Year’s Day, the children go from house to house with a shoulder bag or rucksack and wish the residents a happy new year by singing a verse:
“Wiu winschn enk a glickseligis, freidnreichis, neus Jouh, Glick und Seign s gonze Jouh! (translates as: We wish you a blissful, joyful new year, happiness and blessings all year round).
In return, the children are rewarded with sweets or a coin. The children visit the houses in their own village and are usually out and about until the afternoon. There is great joy when they return home packed with presents.
Nikolaus celebration
A JOY FOR THE LITTLE ONES.
We celebrate St. Nicholas on December 6. This Christian custom has survived mainly in the German-speaking areas of Europe and is celebrated there by St. Nicholas rewarding the well-behaved children on this day.
Of course, there is also its counterpart, the Krampus, who is supposed to punish the naughty ones. The Krampus is an ugly and terrifying figure who wears a coat with bells attached to it. His face is covered by a wooden mask with horns. The Krampus also has long willow rods or rattling chains.
Krampus parades take place in many villages at the beginning of December.
