1. Birthdays and other celebrations
Family Celebrations
Birthdays and other celebrations

2. Family Celebrations - Kid´s birhtday
Children´s birthdays
Usually kids celebrate their birthdays in their families. In the afternoon they drink tea, coffee or cocoa and eat cakes or tarts .
Some weeks or days later they celebrate with their friends. Then they will do different activities: Some go swimming, some make a picnic in the forest, some go bowling, it depends on the season and the weather.

3. Family Celebrations – Adults` birhtday
Birthday of adults : Even adults invite friends and members ot their family and they do different things: Drinking coffee in the afternoon, eating cakes or going out in a restaurant for a nice meal.

4. Family Celebrations – Christmas
On the 24 th of December many families visit one of the services at their local church. After that they go home for having dinner, some families open their presents before dinner some of them open do it after the meal. In our region a lot of families roll the dice. The person with the highest number may open the next present. In some families old songs are sung, or one person reads the Christmas story from the Bible in Luke 2. There are also special traditions concerning the meals. Some families eat a goose or a duck, some have sausages and potato salad, some have fondue with salads and different sorts of meat.

5. Family celebrations - confirmation
In our region the majority of people is Protestant. Therefore the youngsters have their confirmation at the age of 15 or 16. As the word says the with this celebration the yong people confirm their baptism. They want to be a member of the christian community. There is a service at church and after the service they go to a restaurant or at their house to celebrate this. They get lots of presents and money and they have a big lunch . In the afternoon they drink coffee or tea and eat lots of cakes and tarts .

6. Family celebrations - communion
In Catholic families kids celebrate their holy communion at the age of 8 or 9. They have a service at their church and they also have a big lunch with members of their family . They also get lots of presents and money. On this photo you can see a girl on her communion day. They also sometimes wear little „crowns“ on their heads. Boys wear a shirt and a tie.

7. Family celebrations – Baptism
In our region kids are baptized when they are a baby. But it is also possible to baptise someone before the confirmation at the age of 14. Some babies wear a special dress for the baptism ceremony. This dress belongs to the family and very often the ancestors were baptized in this dress. For the ceremony at church a candle is prepapred for the child. On the candle there is the name of the child and sometimes the date of the baptism. On the photo you can see one of these candles

8. Family celebrations – Baptism
. After the service at the church the familiy goes home or to a restaurant where they have a big lunch. They take photos with all guests and celebrate the whole day. The child gets presents or money. Here you can see a a special dress for a baptism. The pink ribbon shows that this is the dress for a girl.

9. Family celebrations – Wedding
In Germany weddings are celebrated in different ways. Some couples celebrate it secretly, only with parents and brothers and sisters, and some have really big parties.
Before the real wedding lots of couples have other parties:
They invite all friends and neighbours to their house and everybody has to bring old porcelain. They damage it in front of their house. The broken pieces are a symbol of luck in their future life.
Some day before the wedding ceremony the man and the woman go out with their friends and finish their single life. Some travel through the city or go by trains to other towns and they sell small bottles of alcohol to people in the streets or in the train.

10. Family celebrations – Wedding
Before people marry in a church they have to marry in registry office. Usually this is a small celebration , where they only invite their families and their close friends. Some of them ask friends to be a witness to marriage, but it is not necessary. After that they go to a restaurant and have a nice meal. Sometimes friends of them wait in front of the registry office and they drink a glass of champagn together.

11. Family celebrations – Wedding
On the wedding day at church the women sometimes go the hairdresser to get a nice hair-style. Some couples order a fotographer to take nice pictures outside in park or at another nice place. Then they go to church in a nice car, which is decorated with flowers. Somes couples even come by coach. After the service at church they go to a restaurant where they have a nice meal . They eat a lot , dance and very often they celebrate until the next morning.

12. Family celebrations – First day at school
When kids come to school it`s an exciting day ,even for the whole familiy:
In our region the first day at school is a Saturday, so that the whole family can take part . At 9 o´ clock they start with a service at church. It´s a special service, only for them.
After the service they have a celebration at school. Older kids prepared some songs and dances for them.
Then they have one lesson with their teacher in their classes. Here they get to know each other . They play some games, listen to a story and draw pictures.
Then they get a paper bag in German it´s called „Schultüte“ whih is filled with sweets and small toys. This bag is made by their mums and there are pictures on it , e.g. from a football club (boys) or princesses or other funny things.
After that they go home and have a barbecue or a nice lunch .

13. Family celebrations – First day at school