Erntedankfest / Thanksgiving

Erntedankfest

Das Erntedankfest (auch Erntedank, Erntefest) ist im Christentum ein Fest nach der Ernte im Herbst, bei dem die Gläubigen Gott für die Gaben der Ernte danken.

Allgemeines
Bei der Feier, die meist in einer Kirche, aber regional auch als Prozession veranstaltet wird, werden Feldfrüchte, Getreide und Obst dekorativ aufgestellt. Dazu kommen auch andere als Gaben bezeichnete Produkte von besonderer Naturnähe, wie Mehl, Honig oder Wein.

In manchen Orten gibt es eine aus Getreide oder Weinreben geflochtene „Erntekrone“ in der Kirche oder sie wird in einer Prozession durch das Gemeindegebiet getragen.

Mit dem Erntedankfest soll in Dankbarkeit an den Ertrag in Landwirtschaft und Gärten erinnert werden – und auch daran, dass es nicht allein in der Hand des Menschen liegt, über ausreichend Nahrung zu verfügen. Die Erntegaben werden nach dem Fest zuweilen an Bedürftige in der Gemeinde, in Obdachlosenheimen oder an karitative Einrichtungen verteilt.

Erntedankfest - Harvest festival

The harvest festival is a festival in Christianity after harvest in autumn. The faithful thank God for the gifts of the harvest. In Germany the first Sunday in October.

General
At the ceremony, which is mostly regionally organized in a church, but also as a procession, crops, grains and fruits are placed decorative. There are also other designated products as gifts of special closeness to nature, such as flour, honey or wine.

In some places there is a braided from cereals or vines – the "harvest crown" - in the church or carried in a procession through the municipality.

With Thanksgiving should be remembered with gratitude the yield in agriculture and gardens - and also that it is not solely in the hands of the people to have enough food. The harvest offerings are sometimes distributed after the party to the needy in the community, in homeless shelters or to charities.

NOTE:
Erntedankfest is not the same as Thanksgiving in the USA and Canada.
Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada as a day of giving thanks for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year. It is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States and on the second Monday of October in Canada. Several other places around the world observe similar celebrations. Thanksgiving has its historical roots in religious and cultural traditions and has long been celebrated in a secular manner as well.

Images by students:
The students were asked:
- What am I thankful for?
- Who I forgot to thank?

Christmas

Christmas

Christmas or Christmas Day (Old English: Crīstesmæsse, meaning "Christ's Mass") is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed most commonly on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, it is prepared for by the season of Advent or Nativity Fast and is prolonged by the Octave of Christmas and further by the season of Christmastide. Christmas Day is a public holiday in many of the world's nations, is celebrated culturally by a large number of non-Christian people, and is an integral part of the Christmas and holiday season.

The celebratory customs associated in various countries with Christmas have a mix of pre-Christian, Christian, and secular themes and origins. Popular modern customs of the holiday include gift giving, completing an Advent calendar or Advent wreath, Christmas music and caroling, an exchange of Christmas cards, church services, a special meal, and the display of various Christmas decorations, including Christmas trees, Christmas lights, nativity scenes, garlands, wreaths, mistletoe, and holly. In addition, several closely related and often interchangeable figures, known as Santa Claus, Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, and Christkind, are associated with bringing gifts to children during the Christmas season and have their own body of traditions and lore. Because gift-giving and many other aspects of the Christmas festival involve heightened economic activity, the holiday has become a significant event and a key sales period for retailers and businesses. The economic impact of Christmas is a factor that has grown steadily over the past few centuries in many regions of the world.

The month and date of Jesus' birth are unknown. December 25 as a church holiday is documented only since 336. How did it come to this date, is controversial. Discussed is the influence of the Roman cult of the sun: Emperor Aurelian had set December 25 in the year 274 as empire-wide day of celebration for Sol Invictus.

A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen conifer such as spruce, pine, or fir associated with the celebration of Christmas.

The custom of the Christmas tree developed in early modern Germany (where it is today called Weihnachtsbaum or Christbaum or "Tannenbaum") with predecessors that can be traced to the 16th and possibly 15th century, in which devout Christians brought decorated trees into their homes. It acquired popularity beyond Germany during the second half of the 19th century, at first among the upper classes.

The tree was traditionally decorated with edibles such as apples, nuts, or other foods. In the 18th century, it began to be illuminated by candles, which were ultimately replaced by Christmas lights after the advent of electrification. Today, there are a wide variety of traditional ornaments, such as garland, tinsel, and candy canes. An angel or star might be placed at the top of the tree to represent the archangel Gabriel or the Star of Bethlehem from the Nativity.


Advent is a season observed in many Western Christian churches as a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas. The term is an anglicised version of the Latin word adventus, meaning "coming". Advent starts fourth Sunday before Christmas

National Days/Public Holidays

German Unity Day

The Day of German Unity (German: Tag der Deutschen Einheit) is the national day of Germany, celebrated on 3 October as a public holiday. It commemorates the anniversary of German reunification in 1990, when the goal of a united Germany that originated in the middle of the 19th century, was fulfilled again. Therefore, the name addresses neither the re-union nor the union, but the unity of Germany. The Day of German Unity on 3 October has been the German national holiday since 1990, when the reunification was formally completed. It is a legal holiday for the Federal Republic of Germany.

Public holidays in Germany

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Except for the national holiday (German Unity Day), public holidays in Germany are determined by the federal states.

In detail: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_holidays_in_Germany

Carnival

Carnival is a festive season that occurs immediately before the Christian season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February. Carnival typically involves a public celebration and/or parade combining some elements of a circus, masks and public street party. People wear masks during many such celebrations, an overturning of life's normal things.

The term Carnival is traditionally used in areas with a large Catholic presence. In historically Lutheran countries, the celebration is known as Fastelavn. In German-speaking Europe and the Netherlands, the Carnival season traditionally opens on 11/11 (often at 11:11 a.m.). This dates back to celebrations before the Advent season or with harvest celebrations of St. Martin's Day.

Some of the best-known traditions, including carnal parades and masquerade balls, were first recorded in medieval Italy. The carnival of Venice was, for a long time, the most famous carnival (although Napoleon abolished it in 1797 and only in 1959 was the tradition restored). From Italy, Carnival traditions spread to Spain, Portugal and France and from France to New France in North America. From Spain and Portugal it spread with colonization to the Caribbean and Latin America. In the early 19th century in the German Rhineland and Southern Netherlands, the weakened medieval tradition also revived. In Rhineland in 1823, the first modern Carnival parade took place in Cologne, Germany. The upper Rhineland is mostly Protestant, as is most of Northern Germany and Northern Europe. Carneval (regional names in Germany: Fasching, Fasnet, Fastabend, Fastelovend, Fasteleer or fifth season) mixed pagan traditions with Christian traditions. Pre-Lenten celebrations featured parades, costumes and masks to endure Lent's withdrawal from worldly pleasures.

The Carnival Sunday is 7 weeks before Ester Sunday. Lent begins with Ash Wednesday and is in Christianity preparing for Easter.