Christmas Eve in Germany

Christmas traditions differ from country to country. And things are a bit different here in Germany than back in the States.

• In contrast to the States, all stores close in the early afternoon (2 pm). There's no mid-night shopping at Walmart for Santa's gifts.
• Church service at 5 pm. Many Germans regard the Christmas Eve service as the most special in the year. Even though they never attend church throughout the year, they will probably still attend on Christmas Eve. (Easter services, on the other hand, are poorly attended).
  
• Families gather for dinner and the opening of gifts. The Weihnachstman (Santa Claus) arrives during the evening of the 24th, giving the kids plenty of time to play with their gifts before going to bed.
  

Our family had our Christmas dinner before church. As I mentioned in our previous post, our church rented the community auditorium for tonight's service. I'm guessing that we had about 200 in attendance.

Then we came home, read the Christmas narrative, and Brianna handed out the gifts. This year was special because both Claudia's parents and my parents were with us for Christmas. (Yep, my parents made the trip to Germany for the holidays.)