In Germany, Thanksgiving is a harvest festival known as Erntedankfest. Its
celebrations have been a long standing tradition in not only Germany, but the
other German-speaking countries of Europe as well. In Germany, Thanksgiving is
mainly a rural celebration, with religious significance. In the large cities of
country, it is more a part of church services. Thanksgiving Celebrations in
Germany are starkly different from the big traditional family celebrations in
the US. Thanksgiving is not even a national holiday in Germany. Still, German
Thanksgiving can find close resemblance with the Canadian way of celebrating the
harvest festival.
A typical Thanksgiving celebration in Germany is organized at Berlin's
Evangelisches Johannesstift Berlin (church). It is an all-day celebration, held
in late September. After the church service, a fest begins at 10 in the morning.
At around 2 in the noon, a Thanksgiving procession is also held. The procession
concludes with the presenting of a harvest crown, known as Erntekrone. Music,
dance and food, inside and outside the church, take place at 3 pm. An evening
service, followed by a lantern and torch parade, is fixed at 6 in the evening.
Fireworks are seen in the sky, with the ending of the parade. The church
ceremonies and celebrations end at around 7 p.m.
Over the past few decades, German Thanksgiving has started borrowing much from
the American Thanksgiving. Turkey has become quite a popular dish, which is now
widely available in Germany and also the other German-speaking countries of
Europe. In fact, Turkey has gradually replaced the traditional goose on special
occasions in Germany. Despite of developing evident leanings towards the
American way of celebrating Thanksgiving, in Germany, it is not a big day of
family feasting and get-togethers that are symbolic of Thanksgiving in US. In
other words, it is not strictly considered as a family celebration in the
country.
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