The most universal symbol of Christmas , the evergreen tree , is strictly a German tradition that goes back centuries . The origin does get some debate , however . Lutheran's , not surprisingly , credit Martin Luther with introducing the "Tree of Light" to decorate homes for this solemn occasion . Catholic's say that Saint Boniface beat Luther to the punch by a couple of centuries . Let's stay out of that fight , and just say how delighted we are with our own Christmas trees.

For virtually all Germans , the Christmas tree is put up on Christmas Eve . The children are kept away while the tree is decorated , and presents placed , then when all is ready , they are turned loose . Understandably , the kids pay little attention to the tree , going straight to the presents . This upset some parents , thinking that more attention should be paid to "Weihnachtsbaum"( Christmas tree) , and so they came up with an ingenious solution . They would hide a glass pickle ornament on the tree , and give a small gift to the first child to find the hidden pickle . The pickle was chosen because it was easy to hide , and not so easy to find . While the "special"gift was small , perhaps only a piece of candy or fruit , the year's bragging rights over one's siblings that "I found the pickle" were immeasurable . Then , on January 6th (the feast of the Epiphany), out went the tree.

How did the Christmas tree go from being a German custom to an American one? Quite fast actually . Queen Victoria of Britain was married to a German Prince , Albert . To surprise her beloved Albert one Christmas , she had a typical German Christmas tree erected at the palace , to his , and everyone's delight . Once Queen Victoria put up a Christmas tree , all of the British aristocracy immediately followed suit . Once the Brits were doing it , all of the Anglophiles in this country copied it . Poof ! In just a few years , the Christmas tree went from being a quaint custom of German immigrants, to a national one.

Decorations for the tree evolved over the years . One of the more popular early decorations were apples , which of course grow on trees . You can imagine the poor tree being weighed down by a bunch of apples . Well, a glass blower , feeling sorry for his overburdened tree , decided to do something about it . He made apple shaped glass balls , painted them like apples , and lightened his tree's load significantly . Not surprisingly , this caught on like wildfire , and more styles evolved . Pine cones , nuts , and clip-on birds were the most popular early ornaments ,as they are all found naturally on trees , but over the years fashions changed , and now we find ALL kind of shapes and styles.

While we associate glass ornaments with Germany, nearly half of all Germans do not decorate their Christmas trees with any glass at all ! They will use ornaments made from straw , wood , wood shavings , and pewter ; all of which are quite beautiful , and remarkable . Why the differences , you ask ? Modern Americans think only of Germany as one country , when until the late 19th century , there was NO Germany , just a collection of over 200 Germanic independent principalities . Each was sovereign ,quite willing to go war with their neighbors , and very proud of their own traditions , and customs , and religion . Unification under Prussia by Otto Von Bismarck into a united nation did not bring an end to local customs at all.

A good example of this diversity concerns the gift-bringer at Christmas time . There is no Santa Claus over there . Most German-speaking people believe that the "Christkind" , or Christchild , brings the presents to all the good little boys and girls . In some regions , it is thought to be a little profane to say that God , in the person of the Christkind , is personally bringing presents into the homes of all these greedy little kids . They created the tradition of "Kris Kringle" (our shops name-sake) , an angel sent as the Christkind's messenger , to bring all the presents . Some areas have "Nikolaus" as the gift bringer , not a jolly fat man , but a rather spare , stern looking fellow in a red suit . He carries a sack of toys in one hand for the good kids , and a bundle of switches in the other hand , with which he gleefully whacks the behinds of the bad children . Behaving before Christmas was serious business for all those kids!

There are also some other characters who make the switch-bearing Nikolaus look like a sweetheart . Take Krampus , for instance : a very menacing looking fellow , all dressed in black with a scary mask , and antlers on his head , he carries switches in one hand , and a sack of coal in the other , to "reward" the bad children . We have had two very interesting conversations with folks about Krampus . A German was visiting our shop , and got quite animated when he spotted the Krampus figure . He just had to tell me (in German) about the origin character from his hometown . In pre-Christian times , they would dress up like Krampus during the winter solstice to "scare away" the evil spirits , and bring back the sun . This custom was discontinued with the conversion to Christianity . When they started celebrating Christmas , and the good kids got treats , they figured that the bad kids should get punished . Who better to do the job than old Krampus , so they brought him back out of mothballs , and put him to use encouraging all the children to behave , but no quite all . A nice lady of German birth came in to our shop , and told of her experience with Krampus . When Krampus came to her neighborhood , he told her to fold her hands , and recite her prayers , a common practice to make sure kids were learning their Catechism . This young girl refused , "who does he think he is to order me around?" she said . Krampus threatened her again , and giving her another chance to save her behind , but she refused again ! The startled man (neighbors would take turns dressing up) had no choice but to whack her butt . To this day , she hates Krampus , and is just a little cocky about having stood up to him as a litttle girl ! In other regions there are similar sinister characters , Ruprecht , or Knecht Ruprecht . They are dressed in black , and have the same job description as Krampus.

A more cheerful topic is the pyramid, a universal Christmas decoration in German homes . No , they don't build massive piles of stones . These pyramids are round and made of wood , tapering in from the bottom to a more narrow top . Usually multi-level affairs , there are little platforms in the center that rotate on a spindle . Power comes from the warm air rising from candles burning on the base , and spinning the propeller-like paddles on the very top . Most typically , these contain Nativity figures , although today there are scenes with santas , snowmen etc. Some of the larger ones will display the whole story of Christmas : herald angels on top , angels guiding the shepherds , the Magi traveling , the stable , and even the flight into Egypt , with Herod's soldiers in pursuit . All of them are enchanting , a wonderful display of old world craftmanship , candles twinkling , and the gently spinning characters, a true symbol of Christmas.

Advent is taken quite seriously in Germany . The traditional Christkindlmarkt (Christmas market) begins in almost every city on the first Sunday of advent . Every child has an advent calendar , printed with Holiday scenes , and little numbered "windows" that they open each day revealing a part of the scene or a special message . There are also chocolate advent calendars with , you guessed it , a chocolate treat behind each little window . One woman who got the chocolate advent calendar every year told me that December was the only month of the year that she did not have to struggle to get her daughter out of bed . She just jumped out of bed , went straight to her calendar to find the correct window for that day , so she could get her reward . I wondered if maybe , she was a little sad to see Christmas actually arrive . There are also various kinds of advent wreaths , that sit on the table and hold four candles . On the first Sunday of advent the first candle is lit , and each Sunday after , one more candle is lit , signaling the imminent approach of Christmas , and adding to the anticipation.

Nutcrackers and smokers are also traditional decorations hand-crafted in hardwood in the Erzgeberge . We all know about nutcrackers , but the smokers are not as well-known here as in Germany, where they are actually more popular than nutcrackers . A smoker is most often a little wooden man holding a pipe, that opens in the middle , and the top half is hollow . When you light a little inscense cone in the center and close him back up , the smoke comes out a hole in the mouth , and the little gentleman actually "smokes" , filling the room with the wonderful aroma of the German inscense . Delightful ! The smokers are most often folks from everyday life : peddlers , fishermen , tradesmen , and now there are a few lady smokers , snowmen , and even santas . The "rauchermann" , smoker, is regarded as a symbol of good luck , and good health , and since one can never have too much good fortune , hence the popularity of these little figures in Germany ; but who are almost unknown here.

Every American knows about nutcrackers! Just not too much beyond Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker Suite" ! Originally they were just a practical kitchen tool used to , you guessed it , make it easy to crack nuts . How did they get so fancy ? There are several legends , but the one I give most credence to is this one , based on the old German saying , " who cracks the nut eats the meat ". The idea is that the person who does the work gets the reward of his labors , and the one who does not work , gets nothing . Two centuries ago the comman man did all the hard manual labor , and the nobility reaped most of the rewards : a life of idleness . One day , probably after paying his taxes , one of these fellows went home and carved a nutcracker in the likeness of his king . He then sat down at his table and forced the king to do all of the hard work cracking the nuts , and then put the king aside , and ate all the nuts himself , all the while relishing turning the table on his king . In fact he had so much fun with this , that he made nutcrackers of the prince , the baron , the burgermeister (mayor) , the police , etc . When his neighbors saw this , they thought it was just a splendid idea , and they made their own , and so it spread . Back then there were no Holiday Inns or Motel 6 , so traveling merchants and peddlers would stay with whoever would put them up for the night . They saw these intricately carved nutcrackers , liked them , and brought some home . They caught on , and trade soon developed . It did not take too long before the original purpose of such nutcrackers , which was not just to crack nuts , but to be a means of humiliating the nobility was forgotten with time . However , the stern , not very friendly smile on the nutcracker's face continues today , perpetuating the common man's perception of the nobility of 200 years past.

The creation and manufacture of all these wooden treasures began and continues to this day in the Erzgeberge , or Erz (Ore) mountain region of Saxony , in the former East Germany . This is a mountainous area which had rich silver and tin deposits , which started to play out ( you guessed it !) about two centuries ago . Woodworking had long been a popular pastime for the men in the forest rich Erz mountains , and as work in the mines ended , the demand for their unique hand-made wooden crafts took off , and became the major source of employment , many in small family workshops.

It might surprise you , as it did me , to learn that the largest ethnic group in the USA is German-American . Yup , more of us have German ancestry than any other ; the Irish are a distant second . Large scale immigration of Germans began early in the 1600's , with Pennsylvaia the main recipient . The term "Pennsylvaia Dutch" is used to describe these folks . Their colonial neighbors couldn't pronounce Deutsch so they said Dutch , and to differentiate them from Holland Dutch , they started calling them "Pennsylvania Dutch". In fact , there were several of these Pennsylvania-Dutch regiments that fought with us in the War for Indepepndence . One of the best Christmas stories ever concerns this . When Washington crossed the Delaware on Christmas Day , and captured over a thousand Hessian (German) mercenaries , he had to figure out what to do with these prisoners . He turned them over to HIS German speaking troops , and they brought them back to Pennsylvania . These sturdy lads from the Homeland were placed in homesteads throughout the region , and just became part of the community . Only the officers , most of whom were aristocrats , returned home after the war . Virtually all of the rank and file had received the best gift of their lives that Christmas Day and became solid citizens of these new United States of America, never to be sold into war again. A very merry Christmas indeed!

This article was written by Jim Gierucki, who with his wife Cleo, operates Kris Kringle Haus.