German Traditions & Holiday Customs

The month of December is here and people all over the world practice their traditions handed down over centuries. I thought I would tell you about a few from Germany, one of our favorite places to visit.

The Legend of St. Barbara

The traditional feast day of Saint Barbara is December 4th, and this date plays a key role in the interesting custom that bears the name of this virgin martyr. According to legend, Barbara lived in Asia Minor in what is today Turkey. Her father was the pagan emperor Dioscorus, a suspicious, untrusting fellow who persecuted Christians and kept his daughter a virgin by locking her up in a tower whenever he was away.

One day upon returning home, Dioscorus noticed that the tower where he kept his daughter under lock and key now had three windows instead of two. Puzzled, he asked her why she had added a window in his absence. Barbara then made the mistake of confessing that she had become a Christian, and the three windows represented the trinity of her new faith. Incensed, her father demanded that she renounce this heresy. After some time had passed and she still stubbornly refused to deny her new religion, her father commanded that she be tortured and beheaded. The legend further says that immediately following this gruesome event, Dioscorus was struck dead by lightning (which may explain why St. Barbara is often invoked during thunderstorms).

Another important element of the Barbara-Legende concerns her imprisonment, and led (so they say) to the Christmas custom that bears her name. Depressed and alone in her cell, Barbara found a dried up cherry tree branch, which she moistened daily with a few drops from her drinking water. She was greatly consoled by the beautiful cherry blossoms that appeared just days before her impending execution.