1

We send you
our warmest
greetings and
wish you and
your families a
happy and
reflective
Advent season.
Cinnamon stars 2
190 g icing sugar
100 g ground almonds
200 g ground nuts
2 egg white
1 tsp cinnamon
1 dash of lemon juice

Beat the egg whites and icing sugar until

stiff. 1/3 of it put aside and mix the rest with
the other ingredients (but only 100g nuts),
not with a whisk but with a spoon Finally
knead the mixture. Roll out the dough on the
remaining nuts to a thickness of about 8-10
mm and cut out stars, place them on a
baking tray with baking paper and spread
generously with the remaining egg white
glaze, bake at 150°C for about 10-12
minutes, after 8 minutes open the oven with
a wooden spoon and leave a small gap for
the rest of the baking
Christmas market in Stuttgart 3

About four weeks before Christmas,

Christmas markets begin in many cities
in Germany. The traditional Christmas
market in our state capital Stuttgart
also opens its doors at the end of
November every year. The Stuttgart
Christmas market is one of the largest
and oldest Christmas markets in
Europe. It takes place annually during
the Advent season from the last
Wednesday in November to 23
December around the Old Palace, the
Schlossplatz and the Market square.
During this time, it attracts around four
million visitors from Germany and
abroad. Around 280 stalls decorate the
Christmas market on an area of around
4000 square meters. The Stuttgart
Christmas market was first mentioned
in a document in 1692. In the early
1970s, the importance of the Christmas
market for tourism increased and the
old stalls were replaced by uniform
wooden booths with elaborate
decorations. At that time the market
also reached its present size.
 Barbara's Day 4
The story of Saint Barbara
According to tradition, Barbara, the daughter of a
rich merchant, lived in Nicomedia in what is now
Turkey in the 3rd century. Instead of marrying, the
young woman wanted to dedicate her life to Christ.
Her father did not agree with her commitment to
Christianity. Despite his sometimes cruel measures,
Barbara maintained her Christian faith. Her father
took her to court and finally beheaded her by her
own hand.
For Christians, Saint Barbara is a martyr whom they
remember every year on 4 December, Barbara's day.
However, there is no clear evidence of whether
Saint Barbara really lived.
Saint Barbara as patron saint
Due to her eventful history and her strong faith,
Saint Barbara is considered the patron saint of
many professions. She is also regarded as a helper
against lightning and fire, as her story says that her
father was struck by lightning after she was
decapitated.
Custom on Barbara's day: cherry twigs
Barbara's Day on 4 December has been associated
with special customs for several centuries. The most
famous custom is to bring freshly cut branches of a
cherry tree into the house and place them in a
container with water, and then, in the warmth of
the house, the so-called Barbara branches will
sprout new buds so that they will be in full bloom
at Christmas. In winter these flowering branches
stand for hope and new life.
Especially in Westphalia, Bavaria and Swabia this
custom is well known.
Nikolaus from Myra 5

St. Nicholas Day is celebrated every year on 6 December in honour of St. Nicholas, also
known as St. Nicholas of Myra. Originally St. Nicholas was a bishop in the area of today's
Turkey, who is still known today mainly because he is said to have been particularly fond
of children.
So the real St. Nicholas never wore a red coat and a pointed cap - instead he is usually
depicted with the bishop's insignia, mithra and crosier. However, he did indeed have a
long beard.
It is said that he liked to give small gifts such as nuts or fruit to the children of his parish.
That is why on St. Nicholas' Day, small, usually delicious gifts are still given to the
children who were well-behaved last year. The naughty children are traditionally looked
after by the rather unfriendly helper of St. Nicholas, known as Knecht Ruprecht or
Krampus.
Today, we know Father Christmas as a gift bringer wearing a pointed cap. Some people
even confuse him with Father Christmas, as his English name, Santa Claus, indicates.
Every year on the evening of December 5th, children put their boots and Father
Christmas plates outside the door expectantly, hoping to find them full of presents the
next morning.
 Nikolaus day 6

Father Nikolaus poem

Holler boller Rumpelsack,

Santa Nikolaus carries it on his
back. Christmas nuts yellow and
brown, wrinkled to look at.
Cracks the shell, the kernel
jumps, Christmas nuts I like to
eat. Come back soon to our
Haus, good old Father Nikolaus.

Albert Sergel
Vanilla croissant 7
Recipe for approx. 80 pieces
300 g flour
70 g sugar
1 sachet vanilla sugar
220 g butter
100 g grated hazelnuts
6 tablespoons of milk
2 sachets vanilla sugar
mixed with icing sugar
Preparation
Knead the ingredients one by one
to form a dough.
Form two centimetre thick
"sausages", divide them and
shape them into croissants. Bake
in a preheated oven at 180-200
degrees for about 15 minutes.
While still warm, roll in vanilla
icing sugar
Grandma‘s best Christmas 8
stollen
 Christstollen Rezept
For the yeast dough
150 g sultanas
½ TL lemon peel
50 g candied orange peel
50 g candied lemon peel
50 g ground almonds
60 ml rum
425 g flour
½ cubes fresh yeast
75 ml milk
100 g butter
1 egg
50 g sugar
1 pck. vanilla sugar
½ Pinch of salt
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ TL Cardamom
¼ tsp nutmeg

For brushing
37½ g butter
75 g icing sugar
 Christstollen Rezept
1st step
150 g sultanas, ½ TL lemon peel, 50 g candied lemon peel, 62½ ml rum, 50 g candied orange peel, 50 g ground almonds
Mix sultanas, lemon peel, candied orange and lemon peel with rum and ground almonds. Leave to soak for about an hour (for more flavour you can also prepare it
the day before and leave to soak overnight).

2nd step
425 g flour, ½ cubes fresh yeast, 75 ml milk, ½ pinch of sugar
Pour the flour into a bowl, forming a small hollow with your fingers. Crumble yeast into it. Warm the milk slightly. Pour about 2 tablespoons of the lukewarm milk
and a pinch of sugar over the yeast and mix briefly in the hollow. Sprinkle a little flour over it. Cover this mixture and leave to rise in a warm place for about 30
minutes.

3rd step
100 g butter, 1 egg, 50 g sugar, 1 packet vanilla sugar, ½ pinch of salt, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon cardamom, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
Spread butter in small pieces on the flour. Add egg, sugar, vanilla sugar and salt together with the spices. First mix everything together briefly, then knead well with
the dough hook on the highest setting for at least 10 minutes. Meanwhile, gradually add the milk. Finally, briefly knead in the fruit-rum-nut mixture. Cover and
leave to rise for another 30 minutes.

4th step
Knead the dough once more and then form it into an elongated loaf. Roll about half of the stollen over the long edge of the dough roll, making sure it is slightly flat.

5. step
Beat the thicker part over it and shape the loaf with your hands. Cover the baking tray with aluminium foil, then with baking paper. Place the stollen on top, cover
and leave to rise for another 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 220 degrees (fan oven 200 degrees). Bake for about 40-45 minutes. After 30 minutes lower the oven
to 200 degrees. If the stollen gets too dark, cover it with aluminium foil until it is completely baked.

Step 6
Just under 40 g butter, 75 g icing sugar
Put the butter in a saucepan at a low temperature. Brush the stollen directly with butter while it is still hot. Let it cool down. Now spread the stollen again with
melted butter and sprinkle it thickly with icing sugar.
Fruit Bread 9
Ingredients:
500 g each of dried pears, plums, figs,
sultanas, hazelnuts
500 g flour
80 g sugar
42 g yeast
½ tsp. each cinnamon and cloves
2 tablespoons cherry brandy

Wash the pears, sweeten slightly, leave

to soak for two hours and then simmer
for 20 minutes. Pour the liquid over the
plums and crushed figs and leave to
stand overnight. The next day, make a
firm yeast dough together with the flour,
sugar and spices. Then add the fruit and
the nuts. Dust with flour and keep warm
to rise until small cracks appear. Form
six loaves, let them rest again briefly and
bake at 150°C fan oven for 50 - 60
minutes.
Handicrafts for Christmas 10
Handicraft instructions:

Material:
• Sticks
• string (at least three times the length of one side of a fir tree)
• Christmas decoration of your choice
• Branch scissors or similar
• Liquid adhesives

And that's how it works: Cut the sticks to the desired length (approx. 40 - 60
cm). Branch shears are best suited for this. Sort according to length. To create a
fir tree-like shape, each subsequent stick should be 2-3 cm shorter at both ends.

Tying the sticks together: When all the sticks have been cut to shape, they are
arranged in the order in which you want them to be at the end. Leave about
4-5cm of space between the sticks. Then tie the sticks together with the string. It
is best to start at the bottom, wrap the string around one side of the stick, knot it
and continue to the next higher stick. If the string does not hold well on smooth
poles, you can also wrap it twice. At the top of the tree, the string is knotted to
form a loop with which you can hang the tree on the wall later.

The Decorating: Now you have the basic structure of the Christmas tree and
you can start putting up the Christmas decorations according to your own ideas.
The Christmas baubles etc. are either tied to the branches with a sewing thread
or fixed with glue.
Nuremberg gingerbread 11
Ingredients:
For the pastry:
100 g butter
170 g sugar
3 eggs
300 g flour
1 sachet baking powder
250 ml milk
1 packet of gingerbread spice
2 tablespoons cocoa
150 g ground nuts
50 g each of candied lemon peel and candied orange peel
50 g sultanas
50 g grated coconut
Wafers
Also:
Icing sugar
Rum
Couverture or chocolate
Preparation:
Cream butter, sugar and eggs.
flour, baking powder, gingerbread spice, cocoa, ground nuts, candied lemon peel, candied
orange peel, sultanas
and coconut mix. Gradually stir into the egg butter mixture. Finally add milk in portions.
Spread the dough on the wafers.
Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for about 15-20 minutes.
Apply the rum icing (stir icing sugar and rum until smooth) or chocolate coating to the still
warm gingerbread.
The gingerbreads are ready to serve.
 Ingredients:
Hazelnut macaroons 3 egg whites 12
250 g sugar
350 g ground hazelnuts
Small wafers
whole hazelnuts to decorate

Preparation:
Beat the egg whites until very
stiff, add the sugar and
continue beating for some
time. Mix in the ground nuts.
Form small balls with the
sugared hand, press them
slightly flat, place them on
wafers and decorate with a
whole nut. Bake in a
preheated oven at 160°C top/
bottom heat (140°C
convection oven) for 20 - 25
 The history of the Advent wreath 13

The Advent wreath was introduced to

Northern Germany in 1839 by the
Protestant-Lutheran theologian,
pedagogue and founder of the
Diakonie Johann Hinrich Wichern
(1808-1881), who wanted to shorten
the time until Christmas for street
children. Originally the Advent wreath
consisted of a wagon wheel with 20
small red candles and four large white
candles. From the 1st Advent to
Christmas Eve, one candle was lit
every evening. The big candles were
for the Sundays in Advent, the small
ones for the working days. Wichern
hung the wreath in an orphanage. The
idea was to show the children the
number of days until Christmas. The
children also learned how to count.

Today people have Advent wreaths made from fir branches and with only four candles. Every
Advent Sunday another candle is lit. When the last candle is lit, we know that Christmas is not far
away.
Glühwein with orange slices 14

1 litre dry red wine

50 ml rum
2 oranges, cut in slices

2 juicy oranges, pressed

7 cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
1 star anise
50 g brown rock candy

Put the red wine, the spices, the orange

slices and the freshly squeezed orange
juice in a pot and heat it up at low heat,
but do not let it boil. Then add the rum
and sugar and heat up again briefly.
Strain the spices and orange slices and
immediately
Serve hot.
 15
O Christmas tree,
O Christmas tree,
How are thy leaves so
verdant.
Not only in the
summertime,
But even in winter is
thy prime.
O Christmas tree,
O Christmas tree,
How are thy leaves so
verdant.
 16
The baked apple

Children come and guess

what is roasting in the oven.
hear how it bangs and
hisses,soon it will be served,
the tip,the cone,the tip,the
cap,the yellow-red apple.
children run faster,get a
plate,get a fork,lock on the
beak,for the tip,the cone,
the tip, the cap,the golden
brown apple.
ingredients
120 ml apple juice or rum
4 tablespoons sultanas
4 sour apples
90 g marzipan paste
40 g chopped almonds
50 g butter
3 tablespoons honey
2 tsp cinnamon
Cinnamon sticks and star anise for decoration
Preparation
Step 1
Soak the sultanas in 5 tbsp. apple juice and leave to stand for 1 hour. Wash
the apples. Cut off the upper part like a lid and remove the seeds
generously. If the hollows are too small, remove some of the flesh and add
it to the filling.
Our tip: If you like the baked apples a bit more festive, simply cut several
stars into the peel and remove the cut pieces.
Step 2Fry the marzipan mixture in a bowl. Cut 40 grams of butter into
pieces and add them to the marzipan together with the almonds. Mix with
your hands or the dough hook of the hand mixer and gradually sprinkle in
the soaked sultanas. Finally, add the honey and cinnamon.
Step 3Preheat the oven to 200 degrees top/bottom heat. Now press the
filling into the baked apples until they are full. It may also protrude a little.
Grease an oven dish and place the baked apples in the dish. Then pour the
remaining apple juice over them and bake them for 25 minutes without lid.
Step 4After the 25 minutes, take the cut-off lids and put them back on the
baked apples. Bake for another 10 minutes. Then take them out of the
oven and decorate them with star anise and cinnamon sticks. Serve with a
delicious vanilla sauce.
Packing Christmas gifts for children 17

Christmas is the festival of love,

where people give each other presents
to make each other happy. Children are
especially happy about
their gifts.
So that children from needy families
also receive a present, it has become a
tradition in Filderstadt to fulfil a heart's
desire with the poinsettia campaign.
The Christmas wishes are written on
stars. In order to fulfil the wishes, it will
be looking for sponsors, which buy the
gifts and lovingly wrap them.
In this way over 500 wishes are fulfilled
in Filderstadt every year.
The presents can be received by the
children shortly before Christmas.
The thought of making a child happy
and having brought a happy Christmas
warms also the heart of the giver.
Christmas Poem Recipe for lots of 18
Christmas happiness

Ingredients:
A spoonful of heart
warmth
A packet of love
One gram of
anticipation
A large portion of
reconciliation
A handful of good
wishes
A touch of
contemplation

Preparation:
Move all ingredients
deep in your heart and
share them with loved
ones.
Coconut macaroons 19
Ingredients:
4 egg whites
250 g sugar
1 vanilla pod
250 g grated coconut

Preparation:
Beat the egg whites until
stiff, lightly fold in the
sugar and flakes. Place
small heaps, formed with
two teaspoons on a
baking tray covered with
baking paper. Bake at low
heat (140-150 °C top/
bottom heat) for 20
minutes.
 20
4. Advent - Poem "The four candles“
 Four candles
Four candles are burning on the Advent wreath. Outside there was snow and it was very quiet. So quiet
that you could hear how the candles started to talk to each other.
The first candle sighed and said: "My name is PEACE. My light gives security, but there are so many
wars in the world. People do not want me." Their light became smaller and smaller and finally faded
away completely.
The second candle flickered and said: "My name is FAITH. But I feel superfluous. People do not believe
in anything anymore. What is the point of whether I burn or not?" A draft blew through the room and
the second candle went out.
Quietly and very timidly the third candle spoke up: "My name is LOVE. I lack the strength to continue
burning; selfishness rules the world. People only see themselves and they are not willing to make each
other happy. And with a last flicker this light was also extinguished.
Then a child came into the room. Astonished, he looked at the candles and said: "Why aren't you
burning? You're supposed to be on and not out." Sadly he looked at the three extinguished candles.
Then the fourth candle spoke up. She said: "Do not be sad, my child. As long as I burn, we can always
light the other candles again. My name is HOPE."
With a small piece of wood the child took light from this candle and brought peace, faith and love back
to life.
Christmas greetings 21

We wish you a Merry Christmas

That it does not stress you very
much
Much harmony and leisure gives
And also with silence embrace you.

Shift down a gear or two

Pause despite all the hustle and
bustle
For everyone who sometimes does
that
Is it good for body and soul.

The benefit and much more

We wish you all very much

Horst Winkler
Winter impressions from Filderstadt 22
Waiting for the Christ Child 23

The snow trickles

quietly,
Silently and rigidly
rests the lake,
The forest shines
like Christmas.
Rejoice, Christ
Child is coming soon.
Christmas Eve 24
Silent Night

Silent night, holy night

All is calm and all is bright
'Round yon virgin Mother and Child
Holy infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace
Silent night, holy night
Shepherds quake at the sight
Glories stream from heaven afar
Heavenly hosts sing
Alleluia
Christ the Saviour is born, he's
born
Christ the Saviour is born
'Round yon virgin, mother and child
Holy infant, so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace