Our next door opens up to a little bit of music history that has to do with Christmas and caroling. Carol of the Bells was a musical piece written by Ukrainian composer, Mykola Leontovych in 1914, but the lyrics were written by Peter J. Wilhousky in 1918. The lyrics to the song are as follows:
Oh how they pound Raising the sound O’er hill and dale Telling their tale Joyf’ly they ring While people sing Songs of good cheer Christmas is here Merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas Merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas
On, on they send On without end Their joyful tone To ev’ry home
[Repeat from the beginning]
Ding, dong, ding, dong
We’re going to present you both the melodic version as well as the version with the lyrics for you to enjoy. The melodic version features a violinist Lindsey Stirling, who created the piece for her album Warmer in the Winter, which was released in 2017.
With the lyrics we have this choir and string piece by the boys choir group Liberia:
Hope you enjoy these two pieces. They both have a theme behind it, which is a mission – the mission to tell everyone of the big discovery on Christmas Day morning, which was the birth of Jesus, and with that, the hope for peace, happiness and especially love. ❤️🕊️💒
This painting, created by Flensburger influencer StreetArt_NM via Instagram, doesn’t need any further explanations. As mentioned in some earlier posts, Flensburg has some unique corners to discover, especially along the famous Shopping Mile (Roter Strasse) as one will see many paintings of cats in different outfits and settings. Dozens of these pictures can be found scattered between Südermarkt and Norder Tor, a length of over two kilometers. This painting cannot be found there but in a series of calendars, books and postcards that can be ordered online (see link at the end of this article. It’s a gathering of cats for a special celebration. 😸🐾🎄🎉
This day brings with you the answer to a Guessing Quiz I presented in Day 5, but also a travel tip that takes you through the history gallery of Christmas. The place mentioned is only an hour SW of Flensburg along the North Sea. Enjoy the surprises! 🎁
Christmas has been a holiday that has been talked about in Germany for generations, for much of the inventions and concepts, such as the Christmas tree, glass decorations and the like have originated from there. The traditions that are practiced in homes around the world, much of them had their start in Germany. There are many museums throughout the country that focus on Christmas, its history, traditions and culture, plus much of the works written by many authors. For instance, the Kathe Wohlfahrt Museum in Rothenburg ob der Tauber has a Christmas exhibit that covered half of its space including the basement.
But if you are looking for one place that solely showcases the holiday tradition outright, then perhaps as a travel tip you should check out this museum, located on Westerende 46 in the town of Husum- in beautiful Schleswig Holstein. Located along the North Sea coast, Husum has over 35,000 inhabitants and is one of a few towns that were largely spared the destruction in World War II, so one can see the historic old town in tact today. Much of the eateries and souvenir shops are located either at the market square or along the Harbor. The Christmas House Museum is only located two blocks from the harbor and one street away from the main highway going inward. In this historc building shown in the picture above, one can find all the Christmas traditions and their histories here.
The museum was founded by Alix Paulsen in 2008, as he purchased the building that was once the “Stadthaus” (EN: town house but not city hall for government) and converted it into three stories of Christmas displays based on the collections that came in during that time. The museum opened in December that year and judging by our visit in 2021, it has become a really tourist attraction.
The museum features three stories of Christmas exhibits that will take a couple hours to see but they will show visitors how Christmas was celebrated by the eras. They include the different galleries of Christmas trees, a gallery of Christmas items that existed before, during and after World War II, Christmas in a divided Germany before 1989, decorations through the years, and Christmas from the eyes of Theodore Storm (1817- 1888), a German author who originated from Husum and wrote several books, including one on Christmas. A theater with film on Christmas in a divided Germany before 1989 was also a treat to see.
The museum also offers a special exhibit based on certain themes. One year it could be the Christmas lights, the next year the Moravian stars, this year’s exhibit features the role of the dolls and how they made children happy at Christmas time.
When visitors are finished with touring the museum up and down, there’s the historic book store where thousands of books from different areas of the world and in different languages are available for purchase. If one is looking for a special book on Christmas and a certain theme, chances are likely one will find it at the bookstore together with different kinds of decorations and a special window decoration that is typical for Husum and areas along the North Sea.
Overall the museum had a well-structured setting where each gallery had a different theme. It was lucid and easy to find. The explanations per exhibit were easy to read and to understand, although English and Danish would have helped should international tourists decide to visit. The bookstore was also well-structured with books sorted based on categories but given the high volume of people visiting, chances are very likely that more space will be needed in the future.
The museum is conveniently located next to the market square and is only a few minutes by foot. According to their website they can be found at all market events, including the Christmas and yearly markets. It has made a name for itself and has become one of the main reasons for visiting Husum.
The Christmas museum covers all the aspects one needs to know about Christmas in Germany in the past and present. It includes all the literature on this special time of year including that of Theodore Storm. And as Storm mentioned in his works on Christmas: There’s always something very special about Christmas, whether it is with the presents, the happy Children, the food or family traditions. He’s right when he mentioned that all roads lead to Christmas Town. And that town is along the North Sea.
On Day 5 of our Christmas Calendar series, I presented you with a quiz that has to do with this display here in this picture. If you haven’t tried it yet, maybe you should (click here).
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Now we go to the answers. We had three questions and the results may surprise you.
What is the name of this window decoration?
a. Yuletide Arch b. Jöölboom c. Yo-yo Christmas Tree d. Frisan Christmas Tree
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ANSWER: The Jöölboom
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2. Where will you find this decoration? Name the German state and the region both. (!: For the category region, there are two anwers possible)
State: a. Schleswig-Holstein b. Mecklenburg-Pommerania c. Berlin d. Brandenburg e. Lower Saxony
Region: a. Sylt b. Müritz c. Fehmarn d. Lüneberg Heide e. Halligen Islands f. Havelland Region h. Region Oder/Neisse i. Elbe River Valley j. Usedom k. Rügen l. Dithmarschen Region m. Hamburg Metro
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ANSWERS: Schleswig Holstein in the Dithmarschen Region, the Island of Sylt, and the Halligen Islands, plus Lower Saxony.
The Jöölboom is a Christmas arch that is typical for the region once known as the Frisia, which covered parts of Schleswig Holstein, Lower Saxony western Denmark and vast parts of the Netherlands. Because the pine trees were seldom to find along the North Sea coast, this was used as a window decoration, featuring an arch covered with plants, and decorated with apples, cookies and wooden decorations. How they were designed was based on the regions- this one is typical for the Halligen with the decorations representing farm life. whereas in Sylt, the design is different and features mainly fish decorations.
THE FLENSBURG FILES 