On Christmas Eve, the Christ Child comes - especially in southern and western Germany, but also in Austria, Switzerland, and other European countries. The Christ Child shares its role as the symbolic figure and gift-bringer of Christmas with Santa Claus and St. Nicholas. It's said that the Christ Child comes on Christmas Eve, in the night before December 25, and brings gifts for the children entirely unseen. The Christ Child is especially often depicted as a young girl with blond hair and blue eyes, reminiscent of a heavenly angelic figure and even wearing wings and a halo.
Where does the figure of the Christ Child come from?
The Christ Child has Protestant roots. Since it was introduced in the 16th century - when children were still given gifts on St. Nicholas Day on December 6 or on the 'Day of the Holy Innocents' on December 28 - the Christ Child has changed a great deal, though. The Protestants rejected the veneration of saints, and with it the veneration of St. Nicholas. With the Reformation, however, a gift-bringer shouldn't be missing - and the Christ Child was born as a substitute for St. Nicholas. Over time, this also shifted the custom of gift-giving from December 6 to Christmas Day or Christmas Eve.
What role does the Christ Child play today?
Even today, parents tell their children that the Christ Child brings the gifts on Christmas Eve. In many families, it was still common a few years ago for someone dressed as the Christ Child to appear, bring the gifts, and let the children catch a glimpse. To give children the feeling that they can still be in touch with this mythical figure, the little ones can send their Christmas letters to Christmas post offices during Advent. These are usually then answered by the 'Christ Child.' In the more recent past, however, the Christ Child has increasingly served as an advertising figure - including at Christmas markets.
The Nuremberg Christ Child
The Nuremberg Christ Child is something quite special. Since 1933, it has delighted visitors at the opening of the famous Christkindlesmarkt and then travels through Franconia to visit many other Christmas markets and holiday events. Each year, on the Friday before the first Sunday of Advent, it opens the Nuremberg Christkindlesmarkt and afterward pays visits to nursing homes, kindergartens, facilities for people with disabilities, and hospitals to spread joy and Christmas spirit.
Since 1969, a Nuremberg Christ Child has been chosen every two years - a young Nuremberg woman between 16 and 19 years old. Before that, actresses took on the role of the Christ Child. The city of Nuremberg places particular importance on ensuring that the figure of the Nuremberg Christ Child is not commercially marketed but is devoted exclusively to social and charitable appearances. But sister cities are on the program too - all the way to the United States, where the Christ Child appears as an ambassador for Nuremberg. For example at the Christmas Village in Philadelphia, which was modeled on Nuremberg.
