Most of the children's furniture in our basement is very old, so I decided that any additions made to our collection should be vintage or antique looking as well.The oven rack on the inside came from an old refrigerator. The copper lobster mold, miniature iron skillet and tin nutmeg cylinder came from a resale shop. The tin log cabin syrup container from my own pantry. The bread is not real, I picked up this pretend loaf in a garage sale.
The first of several child furnishings I have created using old junk furniture. Because the majority of children's furniture in my collection is either stained and varnished or painted blue, I decided to restore and paint this little kitchen stove top/oven bright red. I have yet to purchase the oven light but I am very pleased with my efforts thus far. I can't wait to fill the top drawer with pots and pans.
The "Elbow Grease"
I think this heavy duty piece of furniture was intended to be used on a patio? Then someone's teenager painted it black to use in a very tacky bedroom no doubt.
I purchased it from a resale shop. There was cat hair stuck to the black painted surfaces as well. It cost me six dollars. The cashier could not believe that I was seriously interested in it! I loved the "Deco" handles, and the wood was sturdy.
I asked her, "Can you imagine this looking like a play kitchen?" She then took another look at it and agreed that perhaps it could be salvaged with a bit of elbow grease. I felt very happy with my selection and assured her that it was money well spent for a winter project. I knew that someone small would think so too someday.
I washed and scrubbed it down and let the little cabinet sit out in the bright sunshine for a week; it had a peculiar odor. Then I sanded off the embedded cat hair. Above you can see that I spent a day spray painting primer on the outside surfaces. One of the drawers was in excellent condition. I kept it for pots and pans. The drawer on the bottom would be converted to a play oven so I removed the sides and back and only kept it's front for the oven door.
After removing the handle from the front of my oven door, I repaired the damaged surface with wood filler. The door needed a bit of sanding and silver paint but it was well worth it in the end. I could have put a door with a window in it for my oven. However, decided to keep it simple in the end thinking it would stand up to harsher use and that it would look more old-fashioned like the rest of the Grimm's play furniture.
I spray painted some of the play cabinet in advance of applying the tiles, thinking it would clean up easier in the end.
Here you can see that a large cardboard box comes in handy when spray painting outdoors. It keeps the driveway clean of paint and when I am done, all I need to do is crush the box and toss it into the recycling bin. I masked the remaining "Deco" handle before using the bright red paint. I was not yet ready to apply the grey paint to the little kitchen's surfaces.
I glued white, square tiles to the backsplash of my play oven prior to smearing the surface with black grout. Below you can see the backsplash cleaned up. I thought it would match the iron burners nicely. These burners are actually coasters. The coasters/trivets were not cheap but I felt them so perfect for pretend burners that I splurged and bought them anyway. You can find a wide variety of similar choices all over the internet. My husband used black, flat screws and washers to attach these to the counter top. It was a good thing that I had purchased a cabinet made with solid wood!
Above you can see that I also purchased unfinished door knobs for the stove and oven temperature knobs. These were later painted black and attached by drilling holes into wooden table top. I used wood glue to attach a small wooden dowel inside each knob and every drilled hole. I wanted the oven built tough enough for a toddler to bang around on it.
Some of you may remember hanging drumming elves on your Christmas tree when you were quite small. You could make these for your own tree now with just a bit of glue and paper. Don't fidget over getting your own to look just like the one above though. His felt clothing has faded and the paper drum has turned yellow with age. Make your own bright and charming for the next generation to remember.
Pattern pieces for the elf's hat and collar.
Supply List:
Paper tube, such as a toilet paper tube
scissors
decorative paper
narrow decorative ribbon
holy leaf and berry sequins
1 inch Styrofoam ball
a bit of grey felt or any color you like for the hat and sleeves
a small piece of white felt for the collar
yarn for hair
nylon stocking, any flesh color
permanent black and red ink marker (felt tip)
one chenille stem (matched to nylon stocking in color)
white tacky glue
light weight cardboard
pencil
a razor or craft knife
metallic string for the hanger
pink soft pastel or blush from your makeup kit
needle with a large eye
Step-by-Step Instructions:
Cut 1 1/2 inch section from the paper tube.
Hold this paper tube against the light weight cardboard and draw around it's circumference. Repeat and cut two of these cardboard circles.
Use a bit of glue to attach the cardboard circle cut-outs to the bottom and top of the paper drum.
Cut from the decorative sheet of paper a 1 1/2 strip of paper approximately six inches long if you are using a standard size toilet paper roll. This should cover the paper drum neatly. Apply the tacky glue to secure the paper to the paper roll.
Cut out matching paper circles to cover the top and bottom of the drum.
Paste down a decorative ribbon along the top and bottom edges of the drum.
Tack on the sequin holly leaves and berries.
Cut two inches from your chenille stem for the drummer's arms.
Wrap the chenille stem with a bit of grey felt to create sleeves. Tack this felt down with tacky glue.
Bend the chenille stem to form two arms and glue this piece to the top of the drum.
Cut the 1 inch Styrofoam ball in half with a razor or craft knife.
Wrap and pin a small piece of nylon around one of the Styrofoam balls and pin it down at the back flat side of the Styrofoam head.
Glue a small piece of yarn at the brow of the elf.
Wrap the felt hat piece about the top of the head with some tacky glue. Let it dry
Cut another two inches of felt. Stab the chenille stem through the bottom of the elf's head to act as a neck.
Cut the collar from the white felt.
Stick the other end of the stem through the round collar and cardboard drum top between the arms with a little tacky white glue.
Draw eyebrows, eye lashes on with the black permanent marker.
Draw the lips with a red permanent marker.
Add a bit of blush to his checks with a soft pink pastel or makeup.
Cut the metallic string and thread it through a needle. Sew on the hanger.
This cotton batting sea shell will make a lovely heirloom someday.It has an impressive "cork screw" design.
You may choose to finish this project by gluing glitter inside the open cup or just leave the cotton shell unadorned if you prefer.
Supply List:
cotton balls
masking tape
paper egg carton
white school glue
wire for hanging
glitter (optional)
Step-by-Step Instructions:
Cut and trim shapes from a paper egg carton. You can glue and tape these shapes into paper shells.
Cover the sea shell shape entirely with masking tape.
Decide in advance, where you want the hook for hanging the ornament will be and tape a wire loop down to the masked form. Add glue to the tape to make the bond more secure. This wire will get buried underneath a few layers of cotton but you can find it again with a fine needle when you are ready to add a fine wire or thread for hanging.
Unravel a fist-full of cotton balls.
cover the surfaces with white glue; spread this with a fingertip.
Layer the cotton strips on top of the glued surface and press gently.
Let this first application dry a bit and repeat the process.
Now roll some of the cotton strips into long "snake like" shapes.
Squeeze the white glue out into a spiral trail around the faux sea shell.
Now twist and apply the cotton rolls into the glue.
Let this dry and then apply another layer of white glue, smoothing down the surface with your fingertip as you go.
Apply more cotton to the raised areas again and repeat the the glue layers until you are satisfied with the results.
Twist cotton and white glue around the wire for hanging and push it through a hook embedded inside the cotton.
Masked shapes made from recycled paper egg cartons.
These fun homemade icicles are so easy to make, even a child would enjoy the process. Of course, I can't guarantee they won't poke each other with the skewers while they craft these; so parents, watch them closely to make sure your kids behave!
A silver and gold tinsel icicles hanging on my
white Christmas tree.
Supply List:
wooden skewers or toothpicks
wire for hanging
aluminum tape
decorative gold wire with stars
aluminum foil
masking tape
Step-by-Step Instructions:
Cut or break your wooden skewers to the lengths you prefer for icicles. I choose to make my versions 6 inches in length.
Bend your wire in half and attach it with masking tape to the top of the icicle.
Crush a bit of aluminum foil to the upper part of the icicle in order to wrap it into a tapered shape.
Cut the aluminum tape into stripes and twist these down the skewer, overlapping the tape a bit. Cover the entire skewer with the aluminum tape.
Cut and twist the gold wire around the silver tinsel icicle.
Description of Illustration: wooden sleds drawn by Kathy Grimm, boards, hand-built, for sledding
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Left, the snowman before his features are glued on and painted. Right, the finished result.
This little snowman balances snowballs and one tiny red bird on his arms and hat. He has faux black coal bits for eyes and buttons and a bright orange carrot for a nose. He's a jolly cute addition for any Christmas tree this holiday season.
Supply List:
Q-tips
white cotton balls
white school glue
paper egg carton
acrylic paints: orange, green, red and black
masking tape
newsprint
wire for the hanger
scissors
transparent glitter
Step-by-Step Instructions:
crush three balls from the newsprint and cover these with masking tape.
Tape the snowball body parts together.
Poke holes where ever you would like his arms to be with the tip of your scissors.
Squeeze a generous portion of white glue into these holes and press the Q-tip arms inside the cavities. Let the body dry.
Unravel a generous portion of white cotton balls.
Apply white glue to the masked surfaces of your snow persons body and wrap the cotton around the form excluding the O-tip arms.
Apply maybe three to four layers of cotton batting always layering it with white glue.
Cut a little paper cap from the egg carton and glue this to the top of his head.
shape a carrot nose, coal eyes and buttons, plus snowballs and a small bird from the cotton batting. Ad small amounts to the batting as you do this and let these tiny parts dry.
Glue on the miniature features and let the snowman dry thoroughly before painting him.
Paint his features using fast drying paints.
Apply one last coat of white glue to his body and sprinkle on top some transparent glitter.
My snowman is finished and hangs on the Christmas tree
branch very careful not to drop and single snowball.
Believe it or not this vintage crochet craft was made to decorate cutlery. No,
really, I mean yes. Well I haven't acquired a doll for it yet so I guess I'll just
hang it on the tree. I made the wire hanger anyway.
What once was used to decorate flatware with is now destined for the Christmas tree! This craft when not used for dolls really doesn't make since. So, I twisted a miniature hanger from scrap wire and hung it on a Christmas tree. There it may be appreciated, at least until I knit a doll that needs dressing.
This angel carries a Christmas tree on a cloud above a quite church in the snow.
Here is an Angel with an evergreen, surrounded by cherubim, clouds and stars.
This angel stands next to a decorated tree with lighted candles, apples and gingerbread.
A little angel rides on the back of a deer through the woods and points to the peaceful village below a starry sky.
This tall angel spreads her wings to reveal the wise kings searching the night sky for a star.
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This feathered, pudgy bird would sit perfectly on a pine bough or hang easily from the most delicate branches of a fir tree, for it is as light as a feather! I chose to use undyed feathers in a variety of browns for my project because I have a woodland themed ornament collection. However, this little bird would look just as sweet with brightly colored feathers in blues, reds, or yellows sitting inside of a white Christmas tree or hanging from a fragile twig tree if you prefer.
Supply List:
hot glue and hot glue gun
paper mache pulp or a bit of air dry paper clay
one styrofoam ball
a bag of feathers (your choice in color and texture)
acrylic paints ( I used black, white, grey and yellow)
an ordinary pencil
white tacky glue as well
scrap tissue paper
masking tape
wire for hanging
Step-by-Step Instructions:
Crumple the tissue and form a second "half" ball on top of the styrofoam ball. Tape this down with masking tape, covering all of the tissue paper with the masking tape.
With either paper mache pulp (water added according to directions on the wrapper) or with air dry paper clay, shape the eyeballs, eyelids and beak and attach to the masked head with hot glue.
Take your sharpened pencil and push into the lower styrofoam ball approximately half an inch and remove it from the tail area of the bird.
Now fill this cavity with white glue, plus the feathers that you have selected for the tail of your bird. Prop this tailside up against a couple of books on a table and let it dry for a while to keep the glue from running.
Now layer and glue feathers to the lower half of the bird's body.
Paint the eyes and beak of the bird using acrylic paints and let the painted clay or mache parts dry. If you use paper mache for these features, you will need to wait for them to dry solid before painting them.
Glue the head feathers of the bird on last, smoothing them down a bit with white glue away from the eyes and beak.
Push a wire into the head of your bird along with a bit of white glue, to create a loop for hanging it from the tree.
As usual, I spend a bit of time going through old craft supplies in December, trying to organize them in some new fashion. However, this is somewhat useless because I have far too much stuff!
I did find a old bag of lovely faux pearls. These appeared to be vintage; perhaps I salvaged them from some garage sale somewhere, who knows? There weren't really enough of them to start something big so I recycled these into a handful of beaded pearl icicles for my Victorian themed tree.
Supply List:
pearl beads, a large variety of sizes
wire or long ornament hooks
cotton batting
white glue
needle-nose jewelry pliers
Step-by-Step Instructions:
I used long ornament hooks for this ornament craft so all that I needed to do was straighten my wires out before starting. However, if you are measuring out your wire for beaded pearl icicles you may wish to do a bit of experimenting at first with the lengths. These may be as long or short as you like. The larger your tree the longer the icicles need to be in order for them to display nicely on the branches. I decided to use four and a half inch wires to string my beads on for a five foot tall tree.
Unravel a few cotton balls and set these aside.
Apply white glue to approximately an inch to an inch and a half length of the wire starting from the end.
Twist, "wrap", a small bit of cotton batting around the length of the wire where you have applied the white glue.
Now gingerly shape this end of the wire into a hook.
Bead your faux pearls onto the opposite end of the wire; selecting first, the largest bead and then the next largest and so on.
After stringing your beads thus, take the needle-nose jewelry pliers and bend a loop at the tip of the icicle to prevent the beads from falling off the wire.
I've restored this coloring page by Walter Crane for your Christmas coloring fun. You may download more restored pages by this famous illustrator at The Crayon Palace.
I will be restoring and maintaining a collection by Crane on my children's coloring blog for the following year.
The Winter Brook by Marian Willard
Do you dream, little brook, in the long night, 'Neath your blanket of soft white snow? Do you dream of the light of the sunshine bright, When the nodding daisies grow?
Do you dream as you sleep 'neath the winter stars, That the snow-drifts that o'er you sweep, Are the spirits of flowers from the summer hours That a guard and a watch will keep?
" With antics and with fooleries, with shouting and with laughter,
They fill the streets of Burgos aud the Devil he comes after. "
In Spain, the land of romance and song, of frost and flowers, where at Yule-tide the mountains wear a mantle of pure white snow while flowers bloom gaily in field and garden, the season's observance approaches more nearly than in any other country to the old Roman Saturnalia.
The Celts who taught the Spaniards the love of ballads and song left some traces of the sun-worshipers' traditions, but they are few in comparison with those of other European countries. Spain is a land apparently out of the line of Wodin's travel and influence, where one looks in vainfor the mysterious mistletoe, the pretty holly, and the joyful Christmas tree.
The season is rigidly observed in churches, but otherwise it loses its spirit of devotion in that of wild revelry. Music, mirth, and hilarity are the leading features of the occasion, and home and family pleasures are secondary affairs.
Of course the customs vary in different provinces, some of which still cling to primitive forms of observance while others are fast adopting those of foreign residents and becoming Continental in style. But everywhere throughout the land Christmas is the day of days, the great church festival observed by all.
The Noche-buena or Good Night, preceding Christmas, finds the shops gay with sweets and fancy goods suitable for holiday wear, but not with the pretty gifts such as circulate from home to home in northern countries, for here gifts are not generally exchanged.
Doctors, ministers, and landlords receive their yearly gifts of turkeys, cakes, and produce from their dependents, but the love of presenting dainty Christmas gifts has not reached! the land of the three C's the Cid, Cervantes, and Columbus.
Do you know what you would probably do if you were a dark-cheeked Spanish lad named Miguel, or a bright-eyed, lighthearted Spanish maiden named Dolores?
If you were Miguel you would don your black jacket and brown trousers, knot your brightest kerchief around your neck, and with your guitar in hand you would hasten forth to enjoy the fun that prevails in every street of every town in Spain on Christmas Eve, or, as it is known there, the Noche-buena.
If you were pretty Dolores you would surely wear your red or yellow skirt, or else of striped red and yellow, your best embroidered velvet jacket, handed down from mother to daughter, and a wonderful sample of the handiwork that once made the country famous, your numerous necklaces and other ornaments. You would carefully braid your heavy dark tresses and bedeck your shapely head with bright flowers, then with your panderetta or tambourine in hand, you too would join the merry throng that fill the air with mirthful songs and music on Noche-buena; for remember,
" This is the eve of Christmas.
No sleep from now till morn."
The air is full of the spirit of unrest, castanets click joyously, tambourines jingle their silvery strains, while guitars and other musical instruments help to swell the babel of sound preceding the hour of the midnight mass:
" At twelve will the child be born,"
and if you have not already done some especially good deed to some fellow mortal, you will hasten to clear your conscience by such an act before the bells announce the hour of its birth. As the stars appear in the heavens, tiny oil lamps are lighted in every house, and among all devout Roman Catholics the image of the Virgin is illuminated with a taper.
Christmas Festivity in Seville.
The streets, which in many cities are brilliantly lighted with electricity, are crowded with turkeys awaiting purchasers. They are great fat birds that have been brought in from the country and together with quacking ducks and cooing pigeons help to swell the sounds that fill the clear, balmy air. Streets and market-places are crowded with live stock, while every other available spot is piled high with delicious fruit; golden oranges, sober-hued dates, and indispensable olives; and scattered among these are cheeses of all shapes and kinds, sweetmeats of all sorts, the choice candies that are brought from various provinces, and quaint pigskins of wine. No wonder every one who can do so hurries forth into the street on Noche-buena.
If you are not tempted to stop and gaze at these appetizing exhibits, you will pass quickly on to the brightly lighted booths devoted to toys. Oh, what a feast for young eyes ! Here yours will surely light on some coveted treasure. It may be an ordinary toy, a drum, a horn, or it may be a Holy Manger, Shepherds, The Wise Men, or even a Star of the East.
It is hard to keep one's purse closed among such a surfeit of tempting articles, and everywhere money flows freely from hand to hand, although the Spanish are usually very frugal.
As the bells clang out the hour of midnight, you will hurry to join the throng wending its way to the nearest church, where priests in their gorgeous robes, some of them worn only on this occasion and precious with rare embroidery and valuable jewels, perform the midnight or cock-crow mass, and where the choir and the priests chant a sweet Christmas hymn together. What if it is late when the service ends? Christmas Eve without dancing is not to be thought of in Spain. So you go forth to find a group of Gipsy dancers who are always on hand to participate in this great festival; or you watch the graceful Spanish maiden in her fluffy skirts of lace, with her deep pointed bodice, a bright flower in her coal-black hair beside the tall comb, and her exquisitely shaped arms adorned with heavy bracelets. " Oh, what magnificent eyes! What exquisite long lashes! " you exclaim to yourself. See her poise an instant with the grace of a sylph, one slippered foot just touching the floor, then click, click, sound the castanets, as they have sounded for upwards of two thousand years and are likely to do for two thousand more, for their inspiriting click seems necessary to move Spanish feet and give grace to the uplifted arms. At first she may favor you with the energetic fandango, or the butterfly- like bolero, but on Christmas Eve the Jota is the universal favorite. It is danced and sung to music which has been brought down to the present time unwritten, and which was passed from mouth to mouth through many generations. Translated the words read:
"Of Jesus the Nativity is celebrated everywhere,
Everywhere reigns contentment, everywhere
reigns pleasure,"
the audience joining in the refrain:
"Long live merrymaking, for this is a day of rejoicing,
And may the perfume of pleasure sweeten our existence."
It will probably be late into the morning before the singing, dancing, thoughtless crowd turns homeward to rest, and although it is certainly a crowd intoxicated with pleasure, it is never in that condition from liquor.
There are three masses on Christmas Day, and all devout Catholics attend one of them at least, if not all. In some places Nativity plays are given on Christmas Eve or else on Christmas Day. They are long performances, but never tedious to the audiences, because the scenes appeal to them with the force of absolute realism. On Christmas morning the postmen, telegraph boys, and employees of various vocations, present to their employers and others little leaflets containing a verse appropriate to the day, or the single sentence " A Happy Christmas," expecting to receive in return a Christmas box filled with goodies of some kind.
While Spanish children do not have the Christmas tree to gather around they do have the pretty Nacimiento, made of plaster and representing the place of Christ's nativity, with the manger, tiny men and women, trees, and animals, such as are supposed to have existed at the time and place of the Nativity. The Nacimiento (meaning being born) is lighted with candles, and little folks dance happily around it to the music of tambourines and their own sweet voices, joyously singing one of the pretty Nativity songs. Groups of children go about the streets singing these songs of which there are many.
In this pleasing custom of the Nacimiento one sees a vestige of the Saturnalia, for during that festival small earthenware figures used to be for sale for the pleasure of children. Although the Spanish race is a mixed one and various peoples have been in power from time to time, at one period the country was, with the exception of Basque, entirely Romanized. It is interesting to note the lingering influence of this mighty Roman nation and find in this century that some of the main features of the great Roman feast are retained in the great Christian feast at Yuletide.
Southern races were always firm believers in Fate. The Mohammedans reverenced the Tree of Fate, but the Romans held sacred the urn containing the messages of Fate. So the Spaniards cling to the urn, from which at Christmas gatherings of friends it is the custom to draw the names of the men and women whom Fate ordains shall be devoted friends during the year, the men performing all the duties of lovers. Tin's drawing of one's Fate for the coming year creates great merriment and often no little disappointment. But Fate is inexorable and what is to be must be, so the Spanish maiden accepts graciously the one Fate thus assigns her.
After the midday breakfast on Christmas morning the people usually seek out- of-door pleasures. Among many of the old families only blood relations are expected to eat and drink together on this holy day.
Night of Marvels by Violante Do Ceo
Ordinarily the Spaniard " may find perfect entertainment in a crust of bread and a bit of garlic " as the proverb claims, but at Yule-tide his stomach demands many delicacies peculiar to the season. The Puchero Olla, the national dish for dinner, must have a few extra ingredients added on this occasion. The usual compound of chickens, capons, bacon, mutton, beef, pig's feet, lard, garlic, and everything else the larder affords, is quite insufficient to be boiled together on this occasion. However, if one has no relatives to invite him to a feast, it is an easy matter to secure a Christmas dinner on the streets, where men are ready to cook for him over their braseros of charcoal and venders are near at hand to offer preserved fruits, the famous almond rock, almond soup, truffled turkey, or the most desirable of the season's delicacies, sea-bream, which is brought from Cadiz especially for Christmas use, and which is eaten at Christmas in accordance with the old- time custom. Nuts of all kinds are abundant. By the side of the streets, venders of chestnuts the finest in the world lean against their clumsy two- wheeled carts, picturesque in costumes that are ragged and soiled from long service. Rich layer-cakes of preserves, having almond icing with fruits and liquor-filled ornaments of sugar on top, are frequently sent from friend to friend for dinner.
In Seville, and possibly in other places, the people hurry to the cathedral early in the afternoon in order to secure good places before the high altar from which to view the Siexes, or dances. Yes, dances I This ceremony takes place about five o'clock just as the daylight fades and night draws near. Ten choristers and dancers, indiscriminately termed Siexes, appear before the altar clad in the costume of Seventeenth-Century pages, and reverently and with great earnestness sing and dance an old-time minuet, with castanet accompaniment, of course. The opening song is inhonor of the Virgin, beginning:
" Hail, O Virgin, most pure arid beautiful."
Among the ancients dancing was a part of religious services, but it is now seldom seen in churches. This Christmas dance, given in a beautiful cathedral just at the close of day, is a very impressive ceremony and forms a fitting close to the Spanish Christmas, which is so largely made up of customs peculiar to ancient and modern races.
In every part of Spain song and dance form an important part of the festivities of Yule-tide, which lasts two weeks, although the laboring class observe but two days of pleasure. At the palace the Kingholds a reception on New Year's, not for the public generally, but for the diplomats and grandees.
The higher circles of society observe New Year as a time of exchanging calls and visiting, feasting and merrymaking. At the banquets of the wealthy every possible delicacy in the way of food is temptingly displayed, and great elegance in dress indulged in by the ladies, who wear their finest gowns and adorn themselves in priceless jewels and rare laces. But there is so much etiquette to be observed among this class of Spaniards that one looks for the real enjoyment of the season among the common classes.
In some parts of Spain bull-fights are given as late as December, but cold weather has a softening effect on the poor bulls and makes them less ferocious, so unless the season proves unusually warm that favorite entertainment has to be abandoned for a time. Meanwhile in the streets and homes one may often see a father on all fours enacting the infuriated bull for his little sons to attack; in this way he teaches them the envied art of bull-fighting. The Yule-tide festivities end at Twelfth Day, Epiphany, when crowds of young folks go from gate to gate in the cities to meet the Magi, and after much merriment they come to the conclusion that the Magi will not appear until the following year. by Mary P. Pringle and Clara A. Urann
This digital paper is free for visitors to use in their personal
crafts only. I've created four different colors versions from an antique end paper, "Tiny Figure Print." This digital paper comes in: olive/black, antique rose/black, pine green/black, and a royal red/black. Pin the sample banner only please.
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The following silhouettes from an antique design were restored by Kathy Grimm for the
purpose of reprinting on Christmas Cards or including a little print
with a handwritten letter for a loved one. Visitors should read The Terms of Use
before downloading them from here. Use them in your own personal crafts
and letters freely but do not redistribute them over the web or profit
from them by selling the work in it's original state. (This means
burning the jpgs. to CDs or using them to draw traffic to web pages.)
Click directly on one of the four options to download the largest files. The design is available in four colors: blue, black, green and red.
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It was away back in the time of Alexander the Great that Germany was made known to the civilized world by an adventurous sailor named Pytheas, a man of more than ordinary talent, who was sailing northward and discovered a land inhabited by a then unknown people. He reported his discovery to the Romans, but the difficulty was that Pytheas had seen so much more than any of the Greeks or Romans of those days that they utterly refused to believe his statements. Time has proved that the sailor was nearer right in many of his apparently visionary statements than his countrymen dreamed, although it has taken centuries to prove the fact in some cases.
The people whom Pytheas then introduced to the polite world were Teutons, a branch of the great Aryan race and closely related to the early English. The men were simple, truthful, and brave, but were sadly addicted to drink, it was said, and consequently were often quarrelsome. The women were much like those of to-day in their characteristics: virtuous, proud, and dignified; very beautiful, with golden-hued hair, blue eyes, and fresh, fair complexions. Like most of the early peoples, the Teutons worshiped gods and goddesses, and so have many customs and traditions in common with other branches of the Aryans,
If England has enjoyed the merriest Yule-tides of the past, certainly Germany enjoys the merriest of the present, for in no other country is the day so fully and heartily observed. It is the great occasion of the year and means much to the people.
For a week or more before the day, loads of evergreen trees of all sizes may be seen coming into the cities and towns to be piled up in squares and open places until the entire place looks like a forest of small firs. One wonders where they all come from and for how many years the supply will last, but it is not likely to fail at present.
Toy-making in Germany. How the rough figures are chipped from the wooden
ring coming from the cross-section of a tree.
The Lutherans gave Martin Luther the credit of introducing the Christmas tree into Germany. He may have helped to make it popular, but certainly there is abundant evidence to prove that it was known long before the Reformer's time. It is generally supposed to have its origin in mythological times and to be a vestige of the marvelous tree, Yggdrasil.
Possibly Martin Luther thought of the old story of the tree and imagined, as he traveled alone one cold night, how pretty the snow-laden fir-trees along his path would look could they be lighted by the twinkling stars overhead. But whether he had anything to do with it or not, the tree is now one of the most important features of Yule-tide among the Germans of all denominations.
Nearly ten million households require one or two trees each Christmas, varying in height from two to twenty feet. Societies provide them for people who are too poor to buy them, and very few are over-looked at this happy holiday season.
The grand Yule-tide festival is opened on the eve of St. Nicholas Day, December sixth; in fact bazaars are held from the first of the month, which is really one prolonged season of merrymaking.
In Germany, St. Nicholas has a day set apart in his honor. He was born in Palara, a city of Lycia, and but very little is known of his life except that he was made Bishop of Myra and died in the year 343. It was once the custom to send a man around to personate St. Nicholas on St. Nicholas Eve, and to inquire how the children had behaved through the year, who were deserving of gifts, and who needed a touch of the birch rods that he carried with him into every home. St. Nicholas still goes about in some parts of the country, and in the bazaars and shops are sold little bunches of rods, real or made of candy, such as St. Nicholas is supposed to deal in. In some places Knight Rupert takes the place of St. Nicholas in visiting the houses. But Kriss Kringle has nearly usurped the place St. Nicholas once held in awe and respect by German children.
Because St. Nicholas Day came so near to Christmas, in some countries the Saint became associated with that celebration, although in Germany the eve of his birthday continues to be observed. Germans purchase liberally of the toys and confectionery offered at the bazaars, and nowhere are prettier toys and confectionery found than in Germany the country which furnishes the most beautiful toys in the world.
From the palace to the hut, Yule-tide is a season of peace, rest, joy, and devotion. For three days, that is the day before Christmas, Christmas, and the day after known as Boxing-day all business not absolutely necessary to the welfare of the community is suspended. Stores, markets, and bazaars present a festive appearance ; the young girl attendants are smiling and happy, and every one seems in the best of humor.
Many of the poorer class of Germans do not eat much meat, but at Christmas all indulge in that extravagance, so the markets are unusually crowded. They all like to purchase a plant or a flower for Christmas and the flower stores are marvels of beauty and sweetness.
Every one is busy preparing for the great occasion. Grown folks become children again in the simplicity of their enjoyment and enter into the excitement with as much enthusiasm as do the children.
Newspapers are not generally published during the three days of business suspension, for no one would have time or interest to read them at such a season.
In many places churches are open during the week before Christmas, for with all the bustle and excitement incident to the preparations, the people, young and old, are filled with a deep spirit of devotion, and never for an instant forget the significance of the occasion they commemorate.
Churches are not trimmed nor are they made attractive with flowers, songs, or in any special way, but the people go to listen with devotion to the telling of the old, old story of Christ's birthday and of the first Holy Night at Bethlehem.
The day before Christmas all are busy trimming up their homes and preparing for the great day. Usually the mother of the household trims the tree, not admitting any other member of the curious and expectant family into the room. Tables are provided for holding the gifts, as every one in the family is expected to make a gift to every other member, and it is surprising to note the interest taken in these simple gifts often a soap-rose, an artificial flower, knitted lace, even sausages, cheese, or butter and with each and all the ever-present Christmas cake. It is spiced and hard, cut into every manner of device men, women, animals, stars, hearts, etc. The Pfeffer Kuchen (pepper cakes) or some similar cakes are to be seen everywhere at Christmas time.
The gifts are often accompanied with short verses, good, bad, or indifferent, according to the talent of the giver, but all serve to make the occasion merry. In some families these simple inexpensive gifts are so carefully kept that collections may be seen of gifts received by different members of the family since their infancy.
On Christmas Eve the guests assemble early, and by six o'clock a signal is given for the door of the mysterious room to be opened to admit the family to the tree:
"O Hemlock tree ! O Hemlock-tree ! how faith-
ful are thy branches !
Green not alone in summer time,
But in the winter's frost and rime!
O Hemlock-tree ! O Hemlock-tree! how faith-
ful are thy branches !"
It is ablaze with tiny lighted tapers and radiant with shiny tinsel cut in pretty devices or in thread-like strips. Bright balls, gay toys, and paper flowers help to enhance its beauty, and sometimes scenes from sacred history are arranged with toys at the base of the tree.
With the distribution of the gifts the fun begins; each person is expected to kiss every other person present arid help make the occasion a merry one.
Holy Night, or, as the Germans term it, Weihnachtthe Night of Dedication- is the time of family reunions, fun, and frolic. Not alone in homes, hospitals, prisons, barracks, and elsewhere is the pretty betinseled tree to be seen on Christmas, but in burying-grounds, on the resting-places of the dead, stand these fresh green trees in evidence of keeping the loved one's memory green.
While the custom of having a tree is universal throughout Germany, and from thence has been introduced into other countries, there are many customs peculiar to certain sections. In some of the little out-of-the-way places in the Tyrolese Alps the old-time Miracle Plays are enacted in a most primitive manner. As the peasants rarely, if ever, attend the theatre or have any opportunity to see a modern play, this occasion attracts them from far and near. Where is the theatre, who are the actors, do you ask? The theatre is the largest place available, sometimes a large room, sometimes a barn, anything that will accommodate the crowd that is sure to come. In one description of a play given on Christmas Day it is stated that the people assembled in a barn belonging to the vicarage to witness the Paradise Play. The top of a huge pottery stove at least five feet high served for the throne of God the Father, the stove being hidden by screens painted to represent clouds. The play " began at the beginning," at Chaos. A large paper screen bedecked with a profusion of suns, moons, stars, and comets formed a background, while in front sprawled a number of boys in tights with board wings fastened to their shoulders to represent angels. The language was as simple and primitive as the scenery, yet for the credulous, devout peasants " no distance is too great, no passes too steep or rough, no march on dusty highroads too fatiguing, if a Miracle or Passion Play is their goal."
Does it seem sacrilegious? Not to those who attend it in the spirit of humility and devotion, as do these Tyrolese peasants. In some places plays are given in churches on Christmas as they were formerly in England, but these are not common, and are only found in remote places. Throughout this country there is always a church service in the morning which is very generally attended, Protestants and Catholics alike making Christmas the day of all the year in which they attend church.
The name Christmas probably originated from the order that was given for saying mass (called Christ-mass) for the sins of the people on the day that commemorates the Saviour's Birth.
One beautiful feature of a German Christmas is the wide-spread thought for the poor and the interest taken in them. Many wealthy families have charge of a certain number of poor families, and on Christmas Day invite them to their own luxurious homes to receive gifts and enjoy the tree prepared for them. An address, prayer, and song as they stand around the tree precedes the distribution of gifts, usually of clothing and food, with which the guests fill the bags and baskets they bring with them. And for all there is an abundance of Pfeffer Kuchen, or some other Christmas cake.
In the midst of all the excitement of lighted tree and pretty gifts, German children seldom forget to return thanks for what they receive. They are taught that all these gifts come through the Christ-child, and that the occasion is not for selfish enjoyment but to give pleasure to others, and that no one is too poor to give kindly thought and pleasant words to those around them.
In some parts of Germany Lorraine is one the people burn the Yule-log; sometimes a huge log that will last through the three days' festivity, sometimes one so small that the family sit before it until it is all consumed. Sometimes a part of the log is suspended from the ceiling of the room and each person present blows at it hoping to make a spark fall on some watching face; then again some carry a piece of the log to bed with them to protect them from lightning. But the Yule-log is not very generally known in this land of great pottery stoves and closed fireplaces, and that may be one reason why post wagons go rumbling about at Christmas time, carrying parcels from place to place and from door to door, blowing their post-horns continuously, instead of the parcels being dropped down chimneys by Santa Glaus.
It is customary, also, in some parts of the country, for the people and their animals to fast the day before Christmas. At midnight the people attend church and it is said that the cattle kneel; then both man and beast partake of a hearty meal. There are places in the German Alps where it is believed that the cattle are blessed with the gift of language for a while on Christmas Eve, but as it is a very great sin to listen, no one has yet reported any conversation among them. In another part of the country it is thought that the Virgin Mary with a company of angels passes over the land on Holy Night, and so tables are spread with the best the larders afford and candles are lighted and left burning that the angelic visitors may find abundant food should they chance to stop on their way.
Boxing-day, when boxes prepared for the poor are distributed, follows the Holy Day and after that business is resumed, although festivities do not cease.
Sylvester, or New Year's Eve, is the next occasion to be observed during Yule-tide. The former name was given in honor of the first pope of that name, and still retained by many. After the usual church service in the early evening, the intervening hours before midnight are spent in the most boisterous merriment. Fun of all sorts within the limit of law and decency prevails. Any one venturing forth wearing a silk hat is in danger of having his hat, if not his head, smashed. " Hat off," cries the one who spies one of these head-coverings, and if the order is not instantly obeyed, woe betide the luckless wearer. At midnight all Germany, or at least all in the cities and the larger towns, may be seen out-of-doors or leaning from windows, waiting for the bells to ring out the Old Year and welcome in the New. At first stroke of the bells there arises one universal salute of Prosit Neujahr (Happy New Year).
It is all good-natured fun, a wild, exuberant farewell to the Old Year the closing scene of the joyous Yule-tide. by Mary P. Pringle and Clara A. Urann
See a contemporary Christmas in Germany with Olga and Ehsan. "Olga from Belarus and Ehsan from Iran have a closer look at typical
German Christmas customs. (by Maël Frize). More Information about
studying and living in Germany on our Website www.study-in,de."
