Traditions and everyday life in GermanyFestivals, family customs, favourite places and everyday traditions, written by members of Global Penfriends who live in Germany. Each cultural keepsake is a short note about life where they are.
206 keepsakes from Germany · page 2 of 7
On the last day the oldest students go to school (so the seniors in their final year) the whole grade “decorates” the school. Theres always barrier tape involved. The Abistreich makes the last day of school of the senoirs fun for…
Shared by FynchX
Every year, during the Advent season, cities and towns all over Germany are transformed into festive winter wonderlands. At the heart of it all are the traditional Christmas markets, where vendors sell everything from handcrafted…
Shared by fairvals
In Germany, the tradition of Laterne laufen (lantern walking) is a cherished childhood memory for many. Every year in November, children craft colorful lanterns and walk through the streets in the evening, singing traditional…
Shared by ayliny
German Carnival (german: Karnival) has been celebrated for centuries in the northwest of Germany. We were costumes, we dance, drink, sing and we all gather together and celebrate life. It´s colorful and adventures. It starts…
Shared by milakunis
During Christmas Eve, it is expected that every family members come back home to their parents' house. The grandparents also join this event. Everyone goes to church together and then have dinner. The dinner menu has to be very…
Shared by This-is-a-good-name
If I had to talk about one tradition it would definetely be carnival. Although it stems from the christian fasting period as seperate period of time where people celebrate and enjoy life before starting their fast it was also…
Shared by Cloud7
Thalia is a big Bookstore that has a lot of stores in different places , but the Thalia in Bonn, which is now a huge bookstore, was once one of the last larger cinemas in Germany called Metropol . The building has been a listed…
Shared by Cielooo1
It’s a 3-day Festival, which is celebrated on a field during the last days of August. It’s mostly centred around the Rock-Genre, but it features Pop, Rap, Punk and Alternative Artists as well. You always meet cool people and…
Shared by VivaLasVegas
The „Gäubodenvolksfest“ is one of the biggest traditional beer festivals celebrated in Straubing, Bavaria (Germany). People dress in their traditional bavarian clothes such as „Lederhosen“ and „Dirndl“. There are multiple so…
Shared by your local sensitive
Tonnenabschlagen is literally translated to 'knock off a barrel'. It's a tradition in my (and the surrounding) village(s). You have a wooden club with which you hit the wooden barrel like a pinata. For the kids, they just hit…
Shared by Lex.1932
Walpurgisnacht is celebrated on the night of April 30th. It is a traditional festival with both pagan and christian roots. It is after Saint Walpurga, an 8th-century abbess. That night is believed to be when witches gather on the…
Shared by Sadlyflavoured
Every decemeber, there are hundreds of markets across the country. They are open to everyone and are usually found at market places of cities and towns. There are huge ones but also small one, always depending on the size of the…
Shared by TobyV
I have neveer done the keepsake thing but germany is for me full of fresh bread and bakeries where you can sit and eat a brezel which is very german for me. Or currywurst which is just normal sausage with a curry/tomatosauce on…
Shared by Veraa
The school cone ( Schultüte) The school cone is a tradition that was introduced in the 19th century. It is a bag made of paper. It has the shape of a large cone. The school cones are given to the children by their parents on…
Shared by Schnini90
"Berg" translated means mountain and the tradition litterly takes place on a mountain near downtown. People dress up in traditional clothing and the first few days it's all about drinking, carrying a full bear crate and singing…
Shared by Alexandralovesstrawberryjam
Kochkäse is a tradional dish from my area, the Odenwald (we also have our own dialect)So directly tramslated Kochkäse means cooking cheese/cooked cheeseWe either put it on Schnitzel (where it melts because of the heat of the…
Shared by Marie.penpal
In Germany bread has a long tradition. In German called Brot. There are about 3.000 kinds of bread in Germany, there are breads with flour made of wheat or rye and different other kinds of flour. You can also put anything into…
Shared by AlQu
Many people all across Germany like having a “Mettbrötchen”for breakfast.It consists of a “Brötchen”,a type of German bread roll and “Mett”. Mett is a German delicacy made from raw minced pork, which is often bought from the…
Shared by Lillaaa
Ah, if I had to name a very atypical stereotype about Germans, I‘d simply say „We love our "Brotzeit" (bread time)“. I know no other country who loves fresh baked bread as much as we do! Nothing tastes better than a "Stulle" (a…
Shared by holyrosewater
In Germany, potato salad is a popular traditional dish, but every region has its own version. In the south, it is often made with vinegar, oil, and broth, while in other parts of Germany, mayonnaise is more common. In the…
Shared by LuckyLuc
Karneval is kind of like the German Halloween, through not all of Germany celebrates it. It’s mostly only around my region. Normally it’s around February/March. School or work end at 11:11 and after that people go out on the…
Shared by SnoopyLoverNumber1
Someone asked my once what german culture is like. And I didn't know an answer. You may think about the 'Oktoberfest', sausages and beer. And sadly the 2nd WW.. but that is not Germany. The war is past and the other facts are…
Shared by Magdaleena
As I grew up in southern germany vinyards have been there all around me, it was something so natural for them being there. My father and I usually go for a walk in the vinyards, most of the time it fells like hiking. But as you…
Shared by Fensterkreuz
Most people would say, that the English people are drinking most of the Tea in the world. Actually this is not quite true. In 2016 every East Frisian drank 300 liter of Tea in average. We even have our own Tea ceremony and our…
Shared by Kronos1612
The Laternenumzug is a lantern parade held on St. Martin's Day (November 11th) in Germany, especially for children. Kids make colorful lanterns and walk through the streets in a parade, singing traditional songs. The event honors…
Shared by rita
The whole city comes together to celebrate at the Erntefest. There is usually a harvest wagon parade, which means that people come together to design a wagon according to a certain theme and then these wagons are driven through…
Shared by Hannaa :)
You take final exams in multiple subjects (the exact number depends on your state) and need to study a lot to prepare for it! There's actually multiple 'levels' of highschool degrees in Germany, but the Abitur (often shortened to…
Shared by YourGermanBestie
1. Mai Wanderung“ - In my region, on the 1st of May many friends or families go on a hike. If you hike with your friends, you probably take a handcart with you and some food and (alcoholic) drinks so it can happen that around…
Shared by lenasding
Wonderful and large Baroque Gardens with fountains, statues, various fountains, labyrinth and a freaky „grotte“ designed by modern Artist Niki de Saint Phalle, alongside a rebuilt Castle. You can take hours of walks and relaxing…
Shared by Scubabidoo
So Berlin like many other citys has a lot of convenient stores, in this case called späti/ Kiosk. You can basically find them on every street corner. Everyone who lives in Berlin knows that it’s really Importanz to have a really…
Shared by Milu AtariWant to hear about life in Germany first-hand? Write to a penpal who lives there.
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