German Christmas Dinner Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is served at a traditional German Christmas dinner? ›

Treat guests to a traditional German Christmas dinner with classic dishes like roasted goose legs, braised red cabbage. and dumplings, and don't forget the mulled wine and platter of gorgeous, festive cookies.

Third, many families in Germany attend church services and open gifts on Christmas Eve (not to mention it is still a work day) So, a lighter meal, which is easy to prepare, fits better into a busy day. The most popular Christmas Eve meal is potato salad. It is easy to prepare and delicious.

In Germany, the evening meal is called Abendessen or Abendbrot – the latter is actually more like a supper, and literally translates to 'evening bread'. Following a hearty lunch, Germans traditionally enjoy a lighter dinner, with breads, hams, sausages, cheeses, and pickles all being very common.

In Germany, people use an Adventskranz, or advent wreath, with four candles on it to celebrate the four advents or the four Sundays before Christmas. On each of the four Sundays preceding Christmas Eve, a candle is lit. After lightning the first candle, the Christmas season officially begins.

The first and foremost thing you have to know is how you say Merry Christmas in German, and that is 'Frohe Weihnachten! ' But that's just one common example of common german phrases. Get the feeling of Christmas with this beautiful Christmas carol “Stille Nacht” and read on to learn more!

Mulled wine is the main drink at the markets. It's so popular that many of the markets have special decorated cups for the wine. You pay a deposit for them and get it back when you return them or just keep the cup as a souvenir of your visit.

Martin's Day on 11 December until 24 December was a time of fasting. That's why a simple dish is often served on Christmas Eve - such as carp for example, as fish was allowed to be eaten during the fasting period. Potato salad with sausages is also a very popular dish.

The term Weihnachtsmann is a very generic German term for Father Christmas, St. Nicholas, or Santa Claus.

Lebkuchen. This traditional German cookie is one of the most popular around Christmastime because it has those classic gingerbread flavors. The soft, chewy, and lightly glazed treats are a must-have for your cookie plate. Get the Lebkuchen recipe at A Beautiful Plate.

Weihnachten (German: [ˈvaɪ̯naxtn̩]) is the observance of what is commonly known in English as Christmas in the German-speaking countries such as Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

What do Germans eat on Christmas? ›

At the centre of a German Christmas evening spread you'll usually find a roasted goose, turkey or duck, traditionally served with lovely plump bread dumplings – the classic round ones, or one great big festive loaf-shaped one, known as a Serviettenknödel (pictured sliced, above), plus braised red cabbage or stewed kale ...

Sauerbraten (pronounced [ˈzaʊ̯ɐˌbʁaːtn̩]) is a traditional German roast of heavily marinated meat. It is regarded as a national dish of Germany, and is frequently served in German-style restaurants internationally.

One legend has it that Queen Elizabeth I was gobbling up goose when she heard the British had defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588, ordering all of England to mimic her dinner at Christmas. The tradition then presumably spread from England to Germany, where it stuck.

This German Christmas custom is one of the most popular traditions. The angels are usually placed on the Christmas tree, or on sideboards. In some families, angels are passed down through the generations and include special meanings, such as hope, joy and prosperity.

Rather, Germans decorate their living room with wooden decorations like the Weihnachtspyramide (a wooden pyramid / windmill powered by the heat of candles), or dried fruit people (Zwetschgenmännla), dressed in scraps of fabric. The nativity scene (Weihnachtskrippe) is also popular among more religious families.