"There is no better place in the world to celebrate Christmas than in Germany. No country I know takes it more seriously. And no other place on earth is still able to infuse the holiday with such a sense of solemn tradition and beauty. Weihnachten in Deutschland still retains a sense of the sacred and the divine.
"Maybe it starts with the run-up to Christmas, the four Advent Sundays beforehand filled with endless afternoon teas with friends, crunching through all manners of homemade Christmas cookies or moist Stollen or dense fruit bread.
"Perhaps it's because tradition here dictates that the Christmas tree not be decorated until the day before Christmas Eve, drawing out the thrill until the very last moment.
"Maybe it's the brass bands at Christmas markets or the Christmas markets themselves, all lit up and smelling of warm Gluhwein and sausages.
"Or perhaps it's the candlelight. In Germany, people still put candles, lit candles, with actual flames, on their trees instead of electric lights. (A bucket of water for emergency dousing lurks behind every tree.)"
Luisa Weiss, in "My Berlin Kitchen: A Love Story (with Recipes)"
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