Annaberg-Buchholz, Germany

Evelyn's Hometown

Christmas Traditions in the Erzgebirge

Annaberg-Buchholz - and in fact the entire Erzgebirge region - is most famous for its charm during the Christmas Season because of the picturesque Christmas market and the regional Christmas decorations.

Der Annaberger Weihnachtsmarkt

The Annaberger Weihnachtsmarkt (the Christmas market in Annaberg) usually starts 4 weeks before Christmas Eve. Christmas decorations, traditional food and glogg is sold in small wooden huts set up around a huge Christmas tree.

Räuchermänner

Räuchermänner are wooden figures in which you can put a lit incent candle. They will then smoke out of their mouth. They were invented by toy makers in the Erzgebirge in the 19th century. Today, they come in all sizes, shapes and prices. The Räuchermann on the photo resembles a famous character from Wilhelm Busch's story Max and Moritz, the so-called Master Lämpel, a pious teacher whose pipe explodes because the two naughty children Max and Moritz put gun powder inside of it.

Pyramiden

Another traditional kind of Christmas decoration is the Pyramide (transl. pyramid). The shape of a Pyramide originated from the architecture of buildings in which horses used to walk in a circle to help in mining. If the candles on the Pyramide are lit, the inner part will turn.

Schwibbögen

Last but not least, there is the Schwibbogen (transl. light elbow) which can actually be seen in almost all the windows during Christmas. These light elbows originated in the time of great mining activity and before the discovery of the light bulb. At that time, the miners used to go to work so early that it was still dark in the morning, especially in winter, and come back in the evening when it was already dark again. There were no streetlights to show them the way, so the people put metal light elbows with real candles onto their window sills to light the miners their way to work and back home. Today, Schwibbögen are usually made out of wood with electric lights.