German/Level I/Das Fest
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Lesson I.10: Das Fest
This lesson deals with Christmas traditions and vocabulary for Germanophonic countries. You'll also learn about "there is/are" and the dative case.
Dialogue
[edit | edit source]Read and listen to the following dialogue between mother and daughter, Roswitha and Anja. Both of them want to decorate for Christmas.
Dialogue:  Decoration —  Dekoration | |
|---|---|
| Roswitha | Heute ist der erste Advent. Lass uns zusammen schmücken! |
| Anja | Au ja, Mama. Ich hole die Dekoration heraus. |
| Roswitha | Den Adventskranz stellen wir wie jedes Jahr auf den Wohnzimmertisch und die Weihnachtspyramide kommt auf das Regal. |
| Anja | Wo soll ich den Räuchermann hinstellen? |
| Roswitha | Stelle ihn bitte mal auf den Fenstersims hin, Mäuschen. |
| Anja | Wird gemacht! |
| Vocabulary: words of the dialogue — Wörter vom Dialog | |
|---|---|
| advent | der Advent |
| decorate | schmücken, dekorieren |
| decoration | die Dekoration, die Deko coll., der Schmuck |
| advent wreath | *der Adventskranz |
| coffee table | der Wohnzimmertisch |
| Christmas pyramid | die Weihnachtspyramide |
| shelf | das Regal |
| sill | der Fenstersims, die Fensterbank |
| Little mouse | das Mäuschen |
*(Austrian) Adventkranz
Es gibt
[edit | edit source]| Grammatik: There is — Es gibt | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| German | English | |||||
| Es gibt | Zimt | There is | cinnamon | |||
| Es gibt | ein Rentier | There is | a reindeer | |||
| Es gibt | Nussknacker | There are | nutcrackers | |||
| Es gibt | ein paar Ausstecher | There are | some cookie cutter | |||
- Es gibt means both there is and there are. When you ask someone if there's a snowman, you say, "Gibt es hier einen Schneemann?" Many native German speakers contract gibt and es into gibt's.
Weihnachten in Deutschland
[edit | edit source]
In Germany, Advent begins on Sunday, four weeks before Christmas. It's the day when many families decorate their houses or flats, begin to bake some biscuits, and start to sing some Christmas carols.
One typical decoration is the advent wreath, which has four candles—one candle is lit in the first week, two candles in the second week, etc.—and normally stands on the dining table or on the coffee table. Another tradition, especially for children, is the advent calendar that you hang on the wall. They've often got 24 doors, and you're only allowed to open one a day. Other typical Christmas decorations are a crib, a Räuchermann—a wooden figure that blows the flavor of incense cones—in Northern Germany, a Moosmann, Christmas pyramids, Schwibbogen, nutcrackers, poinsettias, and much more.
Most Christmas markets start in the first week of Advent. There you can buy some little Christmas presents and decorations, ride some carnival rides, and often drink some hot spiced wine—the children drink punch for children, listen to carolers, and enjoy a warm, snowy atmosphere.
On the 6th of December, German children celebrate St. Nicholas Day. The children put a boot in front of the door and wait until St. Nicholas brings little presents that are often sweets, walnuts, apples, tangerines, and oranges. Bad children get birching by Knecht Ruprecht (which is now forbidden in Germany). Pupils do a secret Santa with other pupils on the last school days before the Christmas holidays, which are often two or three weeks long. St. Nicholas looks similar to Santa Claus, who brings big presents on the evening of the 24th of December; in Southern Germany, Christkind brings the presents. Most families decorate their Christmas trees on this day with Christmas baubles and tinsel and candles and so forth. After the Christmas dinner, the whole family sits next to the Christmas tree and exchanges gifts.
| Vocabulary: Christmas — Weihnachten | |
|---|---|
| Merry Christmas! | Frohe Weihnachten! |
| Fröhliche Weihnachten! (used by Santa) | |
| Advent season | die Adventszeit |
| Advent calendar | der Adventskalender |
| all-holy | allerheiligst |
| bag | der Sack |
| boot | der Stiefel |
| caroller | der Sternsinger |
| to celebrate | feiern |
| Christmas bauble | die Christbaumkugel |
| Christmas bonus | Weihnachtsgeld |
| Christmas carol | das Weihnachtslied |
| Christmas card | die Weihnachtskarte |
| Christmas cracker | Knallbonbon |
| Christmas Day Speech | die Weihnachtsansprache |
| Christmas Eve | der Heiligabend |
| Christmas market | der Weihnachtsmarkt |
| Christmas ornament | Christbaumschmuck, Weihnachtsbaumschmuck |
| Christmas present | das Weihnachtsgeschenk |
| Christmas spirit | die Weihnachtsstimmung |
| Christmas time | die Weihnachtszeit |
| Christmas tree | der Weihnachtsbaum, der Christbaum |
| crib/manger | die Krippe |
| dining table | der Esstisch |
| do a secret Santa | wichteln |
| flavour | der Duft |
| gift giving | die Bescherung |
| gnome | der Wichtel |
| holly | die Stechpalme |
| Jack Frost | Väterchen Frost |
| list of wishes | der Wunschzettel |
| mistletoe | der Mistelzweig |
| the Mother of God | die Mutter Gottes |
| the Nativity | die Geburt Christi |
| North Pole | der Nordpol |
| nutcracker | der Nussknacker |
| poinsettia | der Weihnachtsstern |
| to praise | preisen |
| Santa's Little Helper | Knecht Ruprecht |
| sleigh | der Schlitten |
| Saint Nicholas | Sankt Nikolaus |
| to share | teilen |
| to chant/sing | singen |
| to surprise | überraschen |
| the three Magi | die heiligen drei Könige |
| tinsel | das Lametta |
| tradition | der Brauch |
| to wrap/pack | einpacken |
- Do you have the Christmas spirit yet? — Bist du schon in Weihnachtsstimmung?
- Are you decorating your house this year? — Schmückst du dieses Jahr dein Haus?
- On St. Nicholas Day, Julian gets a little present. — An Nikolaustag bekommt Julian ein kleines Geschenk.
- The Queen delivers a Christmas address every year. — Die Queen hält jedes Jahr eine Weihnachtsansprache.
- The whole room is sweet with cinnamon. — Der ganze Raum duftet nach Zimt.
Dativsätze
[edit | edit source]The Dativ (also called dritter Fall or Wemfall) is the third object of a German sentence. Both German and English sentences can have people/objects to/for whom action is taken.
In German, it’s very straightforward: Indirect objects are put into the dative case. However, English word order determines if an object is indirect, and a prepositional phrase may also be used. Indirect objects in English are used with verbs of giving/taking/speaking, such as "to offer," "to command," etc.
- Wem gehören die Kokosmakronen? Der Anja gehören die Kokosmakronen.
- Wem schenkt Lisa einen Spekulatius? Dem Björn schenkt Lisa einen Spekulatius.
All nouns in a sentence have a role relative to others. Case indicates these roles, showing who is doing what to whom. The declensions of nouns and adjectives change based on gender, case, and number. Avoid memorizing lengthy pattern tables; instead, immerse yourself in German and note patterns as you learn.
| Grammar: The Definite Article in the Dative Case — Der bestimmte Artikel im Dativ | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| German | English | ||||
| singular | masculine | dem Jungen | to the boy | ||
| feminine | der Frau | to the woman | |||
| neuter | dem Mädchen | to the girl | |||
| plural | masculine | den Jungen | to the boys | ||
| feminine | den Frauen | to the women | |||
| neuter | den Mädchen | to the girls | |||
Weihnachtsessen
[edit | edit source]das Plätzchen, der Keks cookie die Ausstecher cookie cutter das Nudelholz rolling pin die Vanillekipferl vanilla cornets der Lebkuchen gingerbread das Lebkuchenhaus gingerbread house die Kokosmakrone coconut macaroon die Spitzbuben jammy dodgers, linzer eye a biscuit with currant jam and icing powdered sugar die Pfeffernuss spice nut der Christstollen stollen die Marzipankartoffel marzipan potato die Weihnachtsgans Christmas goose der Weihnachtskarpfen Christmas carp der Truthahn turkey Würstchen und Kartoffelsalat sausages and potato salad das Spekulatius almond biscuit der Baumkuchen pyramid cake der Mürbeteig shortcrust der Springerle springerle das Bethmännchen bethmännchen typical Frankfurt marzipan biscuits der Zimtstern star-shaped cinnamon biscuit das Früchtebrot fruitcake der Bratapfel roast apple der Dominostein domino a candy that you can eat in advent time die Zuckerstange candy cane der Glühwein hot spiced wine der Kinderpunsch punch for children das Kenkentjüch kenkentjüch cookies from northern Germany die gebrannte Mandeln roasted almonds das Weihnachtsessen Christmas dinner das Hirschhornsalz salt of harts horn der Zimt cinnamon der Puderzucker icing powdered sugar das Aroma flavour
In South Germany, there are other words for Plätzchen:
- (Swabian) Plätzle or Brötle
- (Bavarian) Platzerl
- (Swiss) Guetsli
Other names for Nudelholz are Teigrolle, Wellholz, Wälgerholz, and Rollholz (rare).
- (Austrian, Bavarian) Nudelwalker
- (Swiss) Wallholz
| (edit template) |  Level I Lessons
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Section I.A: | ||
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Section I.B: | ||
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Section I.C: | ||
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Section I.D: | ||
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Section I.E: | ||
