Christmas and Culture on a Sunday

When I think of culture I think of the customs of one’s country, the way in which places can be differentiated from one another, and the way people spend their Sundays in the cold winter months.

Back home in Vancouver Canada, Sundays in the month of December are busy. Officially in the thick of Christmas shopping and spirit, the city centre is bustling with people and shoppers. We often have light festivals where many of our scattered city gardens have become decked out and decorated with twinkling coloured bulbs in all the trees. Here you can find people of all ages, families, and more walking together through the cold and often wet gardens. Apart from this, you will find people gathered in shopping malls, stressed, overheating and forgetting the meaning of Christmas but rather falling to the complete commercialization of the holiday. For at home Sundays in December mean extended hours to ensure as much money can be made as possible. A Sunday in December means everything is open.

In comparison to home,  I was faced with the reality that Sundays in Munich mean quite the opposite, for everything is closed. Need groceries? Better get that by Saturday! Want to do some Christmas shopping? Not on a Sunday. This was a rather large adjustment for me as I was so used to not having to worry about needing to go to a shop on any day of the week. However, I have learned to appreciate the quiet Sundays in the city. Now that we have reached December, the famous German Christmas markets have ensued. My light festivals hardly compare to the crowds and fun found in a Christmas market. I love seeing all the people gathered together in an open square huddled around tables sipping their Glühwein from a symbolic mug.

To me, the holiday spirit and spending time with loved ones is more promoted in Munich than in Vancouver. Although I may be wrong, it appears as though this holiday is still more relaxed and enjoyed here in Munich rather than the stress and financial burden it appears to be at home.