“Christkind”:
In Austria the holy evening, December 24th, is the most
important Christmas day. That day the so called “Christkind”
comes to our houses and brings our Christmas gifts. Families
decorate Christmas trees with candles and chocolate. In the
early evening hours, normally between 6 and 8 p.m. there is a
distribution of presents. At midnight many people go to churches
to celebrate the Christ mass.

 

“Anglöckeln”
In December children dress up as herdsmen and go from house to house. There
they sing special Christmas carols. They hope that by doing so, the people will
donate money. This collected money the children give to the poor or sick. The
tradition is typical for west Austria.

 

Crib:
At the beginning of December we put a self-made crib
on a table, where everyone can see it. In the crib you can
see Maria & Josef, animals, the holy three kings and the
herdsmen. On the 24th of December we put Baby Jesus
into the crib.

 

Wichteln:
Some days before Christmas children and grown-ups do “Wichteln”. They buy a
little present and hide the present when nobody is looking. Everybody has a person
who hides the present. The oter person must find out who gave him/her the
present. On Christmas eve you give your “Wichtel” another present and thereby
solve the riddle.

 

“Krampus”:
Krampus– run is an old tradition in Austria. On the 5th of
December young boys and men dress up with horrible facemasks,
rods, bells and animal furs. On the masks there are
horns. In the evening the Krampusse go from house to house
and scare off the evil spirits. They hit bad children with their
rods. The Krampusse are ‘Nikolaus’ helpers. Nikolaus is a holy
man who gives nuts, oranges and sweets to good children.