XMAS IN GERMANY

Dominion, Volume 26, Issue 105, 27 January 1933, Page 16

XMAS IN GERMANY

Towns Heavy With Scent of Firs ANCIENT CUSTOMS LIVE Dominion Special Service. Berlin, Dec. 22. The streets and open places in.'the German cities are heavy with scent of firs, for no depression can rob the German family of its Christmas tree. Almost half a million are needed for Berlin alone, and the proportion holds good all over the country. Flatcars piled high With firs begin rolling into the capital in the first days of December, coming mainly from the wooded bills of the Harz and Thuringia, from Holstein and Bavaria. The sale begins in the streets on December li, and from the same date until December 27 the sale of toys, candy, nuts, gingerbread, Christinas tree decorations and the innumerable other articles without which a German Christmas is not complete is permitted by the police iu booths set up along streets aud squares where they do not interfere with traffic. Not for many years has there been such an opportunity for visitors from other lands to enjoy this German Christmas for such a small expenditure. The German Railroads Company’s special holiday tickets at. a reduction of 33 1-3 per cent, from the regular fare, valid on all lines from midnight on December 20 until January 10, permit one stopover going and coming. . and prices for board and lodging in the many winter sport resorts have been sharply reduced. . Unique and impressive customs, centuries old. greet the traveller at every turn. The ancient Christmas custom of having chorals played from the church steeples by brass bands, mainly observed in the smaller towns, is being taken up in many large cities, among them Stettin. There chorals can be heard from various church towers on each Sunday in Advent, on Christmas Eve, Christinas Day, and the following day, and ou New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. A Reichswehr (army) band plays from the tower of the historic Garnisonkirche. In Soest, Westphalia, one of the most beautiful old cities in North Germany, the city's school children sing the “Soester Gloria.” an ancient Latin church hymn, from the tower of the Church of St. Peter on Christmas Eve, accompiHiiud by n brass baud, and x\hou they have finished, the devout listeners below join in an old Christmas song. Iu hundreds of places throughout Germany similar customs are found.