Today is February 29th - Leap Day. This is an occurrence that happens every 4 years.
In Germany, it is called Schalttag. The Schalttag happens in a Schaltjahr.
Schalt means switch. Schalten is the infinitive verb form (to switch).
Schalt + tag (day) = Leap Day Schalt + jahr (year) = Leap Year
Another word that comes to mind for me is Lichtschalter Licht + schalter = light switch!
A typical German light switch as I remember looks like this:
But I also remember in the Keller (cellar) of my German grandparents' apartment building, there was a very old light switch that looked like this:
In any case, I hope you enjoyed your extra day this year - your Schalttag!
By the way, I read today that in true German fashion there is actually a law pertaining to any person born on February 29th. Of course! It is that on non-leap years, you turn your next full age on March 1st (never on February 28). So, for example, when you turn 18 and become volljährig (an adult, "of age"), you are not considered an adult until March 1st if your 18th birthday falls on a leap year.
And that is just a little "tidbit" - a small bite - of German.
Valentine's Day - much like Halloween - is a "holiday" that Germans haven't celebrated until recent years because of their imitation of the American tradition. It was not a holiday I celebrated as a child with my German family in any case.
I won't attempt to write much about Valentine's Day in Germany as many other German-blog-writers have already tackled the subject:
I am just popping by to say ALLES LIEBE ZUM VALENTINSTAG!
And to mention a few ways to express LOVE in German ---
There is the simple Ich liebe dich. = I love you.
There is the more German-native-sounding - Ich hab' dich lieb. Literally it is translated "I have you love" but perhaps it makes more sense as thinking of it as "I have love for you." In my experience and from what I understand, this phrase expresses fondness - it is said to family members, maybe a close friend even. It more means I am very fond of you.
In contrast, Ich liebe dich, for a German is a little more serious and might be best reserved for a boy/girlfriend you are serious about or a spouse or significant other. A child might say it to her parents as well.
If you are German, what is your experience?
Again, in my own experience, my German family didn't often express our love by a phrase equivolent to I love you. Instead, we might close a letter Mit Liebe Grüsse - with Loving Greetings. Or Alles Liebe with all my love.
In reading up on these phrases in a more modern, less verklempt Germany, teenagers now may text HDL to their closest friends. That's short for Hab' dich lieb! It's kind of like saying "Love ya" in English. Also the abbreviation hab' is lazy German; it is a shortened form of the verb habe (to have).
Finally, for your Valentine, I will tell you some of my favorite German romantic nicknames. If you're tired of "honey" and "darling", try these:
1. Schatz (also, Schatzi) - let them know they are your TREASURE
2. Sweet animal nicknames: Maus (Mausi, Mäuschen), Hase, Bärchen (mouse, rabbit, little bear) or even Mausebär (mousebear), which is, of course, a made-up name/animal but sounds cute.
3. There's also Schnecke (snail) ... or another kind of made-up word form of this: Schnucki
4. Most people will recognize the word Liebling, which is the German equivalent of darling.
5. Süsse (for females) or Süsser (for males), which means Sweetie.
I am sharing some of my favorite German Christmas carols - many of which are not well known in America. These traditional carols share the anticipation of the coming of the Christ child as well as the beauty of the winter season. I've already shared 2 other favorites:
Today I wanted to mention Am Weihnachtsbaum die Lichter Brennen. Here is a youtube video of an icon of German music singing the song - Heino; he was a favorite singer of my Oma & Opa. (Believe it or not, he is one of the most successful German singers of all time - best known for his hits and folk music. He actually realized a Christmas album in 2016 - at the age of 78.)
Am Weihnachtsbaum die Lichter brennen
The lyrics were written by Herman Kletke in the early 1800s. It might be the second carol written about a Christmas tree since O Tannenbaum, which is thought to be the first.
I have been enjoying my German Christmas records and CDs this season. There are many German carols that aren't well known in the United States so I thought I'd share some of my favorites on the blog.
I have already mentioned Leise Rieselt der Schnee. Today I am humming O Du Fröhliche - O Du Selige! The writer of the original lyrics was Johannes Daniel Falk(1768–1826). He lost 4 of his 7 children to typhoid, which spurred him to found an orphanage in the city of Weimar. He dedicated this song to the orphans. His assistant Heinrich Holzschuher completed the carol as we know it today.
O du fröhliche, o du selige,
gnadenbringende Weihnachtszeit!
Welt ging verloren, Christ ward geboren:
Freue, freue dich, o Christenheit!
O du fröhliche, o du selige,
gnadenbringende Weihnachtszeit!
Christ ist erschienen, uns zu versühnen:
Freue, freue dich, o Christenheit!
O du fröhliche, o du selige,
gnadenbringende Weihnachtszeit!
Himmlische Heere jauchzen dir Ehre:
Freue, freue dich, o Christenheit!
ENGLISH TRANSLATION: This song too carries the Christmas message of Christ's birth to bring grace and salvation to a lost world.
O (you) joyful, O (you) blessed, Grace-bringing Christmas time! The world was lost, Christ is born: Rejoice, rejoice, O Christendom!
O (you) joyful, O (you) blessed, Grace-bringing Christmas time! Christ appeared to our atonement: Rejoice, rejoice, O Christendom!
O (you) joyful, O (you) blessed, Grace-bringing Christmas time! Heavenly armies rejoicing to honor you: Rejoice, rejoice, O Christendom!
One thing about a German Christmas is the lovely, meaningful Christmas carols that are sung and played and hummed at Christmas markets, churches, and homes.
There are several songs that are not well-known in America, and I feel like anyone who doesn't know them is missing out! So, I want to share a few of my favorites.
This song is sung here by Heintje, a Dutch boy who became a popular German child singer and actor in the 1960's:
This song was originally a poem written by a Lutheran pastor in 1895 (Eduard Ebel). He later called it a children's song. It is also considered a song for the Advent season because of its anticipation of Christ's coming.
Leise rieselt der Schnee
Leise rieselt der Schnee,
still und starr ruht der See
weihnachtlich glänzet der Wald:
Freue dich, Christkind kommt bald!
In den Herzen ist’s warm,
still schweigt Kummer und Harm,
Sorge des Lebens verhallt:
Freue dich, Christkind kommt bald!
's Kindlein, göttlich und arm,
Macht die Herzen so warm.
Strahle, du Stern überm Wald!
Freue dich, Christkind kommt bald!
Bald ist heilige Nacht,
Chor der Engel erwacht,
hört nur, wie lieblich es schallt:
Freue dich, Christkind kommt bald!
What I love the most about this song is its message of the true meaning of Christmas - the words "Freue dich, Christkind kommt bald!" means Rejoice, the Christ child comes soon.
November 9, 2016, may seem like a "Day of Fate" for the United States as Americans processed the results of the Presidential election that took place on November 8th. But November 9th has been called the "Day of Fate" - Schicksalstag - in Germany due to events stemming back to 1848. 5 major, history-altering events happened in Germany on a November 9th. But first, a little vocab lesson:
VOCAB TIDBIT
In that infamous German compound noun way, the word Schicksalstag is actually a lot easier to understand if you break it down. Schicksal means fate; it can also be translated as fortune or doom, depending on the context. Tag means day.
Tag is a word that is added to many simple nouns to make words that you may or may not be familiar with. Examples:
Geburtstag. Geburt is birth + tag = birthday.
Feiertag is a holiday. Feier is celebration.
Similarly, a Ruhetag is a day of rest (Ruhe). Sonntag is meant to be a Ruhetag (Sonntag = Sunday). All weekdays in German end in -tag except Wednesday, which is Mittwoch (mid of the week): Montag, Dienstag, Donnerstag, Freitag. Samstag & Sonntag.
**By the way, a German week traditionally starts on MONTAG, and German calendars reflect this.**
Now getting back to the SCHICKSALSTAG of November 9th ...
Here is a list of 5 fateful events that happened in Germany on a November 9th in history, courtesy of wikipedia:
1848: After being arrested in the Vienna revolts, left liberal leader Robert Blum was executed. The execution can be seen as a symbolic event or forecast of the ultimate crushing of the German March Revolution in April/May 1849.
1923: The failed Beer Hall Putsch, from 8 to 9 November, marks an early emergence and provisional downfall of the Nazi Party as an important player on Germany's political landscape. Without sufficient preparation Hitler simply declared himself leader in Munich, Bavaria. Hitler's march through Munich was stopped by Bavarian police who opened fire. Sixteen nationalists and four policemen were killed.
1938: In what is today known as Kristallnacht (or The Night of Broken Glass), from 9 to 10 November, synagogues and Jewish property were burned and destroyed on a large scale. More than 400 Jews were killed or driven into suicide. The event demonstrated that the antisemitic stance of the Nazi regime was not so 'moderate' as it had appeared partially in earlier years.
1989: The fall of the Berlin Wall ended German separation and started a series of events that ultimately led to German reunification and the Fall of Communism in eastern Europe. November 9 was considered for the date for German Unity Day, but as it was also the anniversary of Kristallnacht, this date was considered inappropriate as a national holiday. The date of the formal reunification of Germany, 3 October 1990, therefore, was chosen as the date for this German national holiday instead, to replace 17 June, the celebration of the uprising of 1953 in East Germany.
German is a language of compound nouns! Most of those big, scary, super long German words can be broken down into smaller words that are just shoved together.
The word Zeit means time ... And I thought it would be appropriate to discuss all things TIME today with the *Time Change* coming up (at least where I live) tonight. The Germans have already fallen back - they do this on the last Sunday of every October. Time change is called Zeitumstellung - big word made up of little ones: Zeit = TIME and Umstellung = switch, adjust, rearrange, transition. Zeitumstellung - makes sense, right?!
The Germans are already in Winterzeit, which is what they call this winter time. They will switch back to Sommerzeit on the last Sunday of March. I don't even think I need to translate Winterzeit and Sommerzeit for you. :)
As we face the upcoming time change, whether you got an extra hour of sleep or an extra hour of productivity, I wish you a good Winterschlaf. Schlaf means sleep. The indication of Winterschlaf is almost like in the poem, Twas the Night Before Christmas, where it says, "...and I in my cap / Had just settled down for a long winter's nap." Winterschlaf is also hibernation, which is pretty much what those cold, dark, winter mornings make me want to do ... I, for one, can't say I'm looking forward to this Winterzeit other than the immediate reward of tonight's "extra" hour.
Now, don't forget to set your clock back tonight ...
