Archive for the ‘Events’ Category

After the last blog post about the Porsche Test Track, I thought I would share something a bit lighter now in honor of today.

Today is not merely the first of April. Today is also April Fool’s Day, so be on guard against pranksters and tricksters roaming around looking for gullible types. April Fool’s Day is quite popular throughout Germany, so you can’t relax anywhere!

Part of the reason that April Fool’s Day is so popular in Germany is that according to some, the holiday originated here. However, there are multiple stories about its birth.

One of the oldest stories traces the holiday back to Augsburg in 1530. There, a group of lawmakers was supposed to be meeting on April 1st to discuss a number of financial projects. However, the meeting didn’t happen. As a result, many speculators lost money, earning them the title of “April Fools.”

According to another story, April Fool’s Day was started in Darmstadt by Gabriel Hoffman. No one is sure of his motivation, but there is no doubt that the holiday has certainly caught on around the country.

You can’t even trust the news on April 1st. Many of the national and local papers put out a special April Fool’s Day edition. This has caused some international sensations as multi-national syndicates pick up the stories without realizing they’re fake.

Some of the 2009 national hoaxes included the announcement of women’s only parking spaces, magnetic towing on BMW cars, and the banning of lederhosen sales.

For 2010, the pranks are anyone’s guess. . . keep your eyes and ears open! ;-)

To see some of the great April Fool’s Day hoaxes from Germany’s history, you can look at the archives at the Museum of Hoaxes. Also, don’t be shy about sharing the hoaxes you think should have been included in the list!

Traditionally, pranks are supposed to be played before noon, although the national pranks tend to go on all day or even for a couple of days.

However long your April Fool’s Day experience lasts, enjoy!

—Marcus

Christmas is upon us at last!

Here in Germany the snow is on the ground, making the white lights of the German Christmas Markets really twinkle and shine. I luckily and gratefully enjoyed them in person here in Berlin, by the way.

Of course, on Christmas Day we will all be together for a big meal and the exchanging of presents. The day after Christmas I’ll be around visiting close friends and other family members. I traveled a lot this year, so I have a bunch of stories to share and people to catch up with before the year is through.

Wherever you are, I wanted to take a few minutes this day to wish you the very best of the holiday season. Whether you will be celebrating Christmas in Germany or another corner of the world, I want you to feel the warmth of the German holiday season. Even for those who celebrate for purely secular reasons, it is a truly magical time of the year.

There are carolers and live music performances all over the country. Some of the carols that are shared I’ve collected here so that you can listen as well (links open in a new window):

• Stille Nacht (The famous Silent Night)
• Herbei, o ihr Gläubigen (O Come All Ye Faithful)
• Lasst uns froh und munter sein (Let Us Be Happy And Cheerful)
• Am Weihnachtsbaum die Lichter brennen (On The Christmas Tree The Lights Are Burning)

You may be able to catch some of these performances live, of course, via the webcams that are over the Christmas markets. I don’t have webcams for every town in Germany yet, but several of the bigger markets are covered, with more added all the time (including you, thank you!).

You can watch the markets via webcams in Dresden, Munich, and Berlin from several different parts of the city.

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!

—Marcus

You know from reading about recycling in Germany that we Germans care deeply for the environment. However, on Thomasnacht, when you see someone hugging a tree, they’re not doing it because they love Mother Nature. OK, they probably do, but… they’re mainly doing it for good luck.

Hugging trees for good luck is just one of many traditions that are celebrated around Thomasnacht (this very night from December 20th to 21st), which usually coincides with the Winter Solstice.

Another tradition is baking Kletzenbrot, which is a kind of fruit cake with lots of dried pears and raisins. Unmarried women can also toss shoes over their shoulders, and if the toes land pointing out, they will marry in the next year, as Thomasnacht is supposed to be a good night for predicting the future.

Of course, you don’t have to stay in trying to guess what’s going to happen to you in the year ahead. Instead, you can go out and have a good time at one of the Thomasnacht parties being held around Germany. Rüdesheim am Rhein plays host to a particularly well-developed party for this special day.

The Rüdesheim town association puts on the Thomasnacht party, which includes special drinks, pageants, and presentations. Locals dress in historical costumes and reenact scenes from the town’s history, while performers do street theater based on tales from the Brothers Grimm. There is even a special cruise down the Rhine with live classical music.

While the occasion is certainly festive, community events like these also serve as a way to get more people to come out to the Christmas markets. Since most of the shops close up on the 24th for the season, Thomasnacht also serves as a last hurrah for gift buyers and those looking to get souvenirs from the markets (including me ;-).

Thus, whether you just want a night out or you are trying to pick up a bit of good luck by hugging a tree, don’t neglect to take advantage of the peaking of the festive spirits around Thomasnacht! ;-)

—Marcus

While Bambi might remind you of a certain cartoon character by Disney, in Germany a BAMBI does not live in the forest. If you have one, it lives in a place of honor in your home or is on display at your office. The solid gold fawn represents a pinnacle of personal achievement.

The BAMBI Award may not be well known in the U.S., but in the world of European and international entertainment it is better known than the Oscars or the Grammy’s. In Germany, surveys have shown that 94% of the population is aware of the award — and I’m assuming the other 6% are still babies (who were left unasked… ;-).

The BAMBIs are simply that big.

Created in 1948, the award originally honored movie stars. Over the years, it has evolved to glorify all facets of media entertainment as well as global achievements and excellence in general categories.

Despite the versatility of the categories, the criteria remains strict: You must be extremely popular in your category. Also, award winners are those who “with vision and creativity who affected and inspired the German public” for that year.

The award winners are selected exclusively by Hubert Burda Media, the largest print media group in Germany (they run more than 60% of the magazines). The exclusivity and the limited award categories makes the prize truly treasured.

The 2009 and 2010 BAMBI awards will be presented in Potsdam, at the Babelsberg Film Studio Park. This park is the world’s oldest studio grounds and a very prestigious one, having shot movies with everyone from Marlene Dietrich to Tom Cruise and Matt Damon.

The ceremony tomorrow, November 26th, will be a glittering celebrity event, as it is every year. More than 6 million Germans tune in to watch annually, and the event is carried on most major networks along with Deutsche Welle.

Attending is the place to see and be seen for the fall, so everyone who is anyone will be out on the red carpets, hoping to be noticed and wishing to win a BAMBI of their very own.

—Marcus