Perhaps more than any other country, Germany has influenced the way Christmas is celebrated around the world. It is from Germany that we get some of the most popular ideas associated with the Christmas season and the Christmas spirit, as well as such welcome innovations as the Christmas cookie.
Things get started on Saint Nicholas Day (December 6). Advent wreaths and calendars make their appearance, and this day marks the beginning of the German Christmas season.
It is said that the tradition of the Christmas tree began in Germany, and most modern families there would consider it unthinkable to pass the holiday without a tree. The tree is usually trimmed by the mother, who decorates it with balls, tinsel, stars, cookies, marzipan, and so on. No one else is allowed to see the tree until Christmas Eve.
After Mass or church on Christmas Eve, the Christkind or Kris Kringle - not Saint Nicholas - brings the gifts. At first, the Christkind was meant to be the baby Jesus; later the name came to stand for a more angelic figure that embodies the spirit of the Christ child. The Christkind wears a flowing white robe, a white veil, and gold wings. He often enters by an open window and rings a bell when gifts have been left. The name later evolved into Kris Kringle; it is in no way a pseudonym for Santa Klaus. Like Saint Nicholas, Kris Kringle is accompanied by a nasty companion called Knecht Rupprecht, Pelznickle, or Ru-Klas.
About the Author...
Born and raised in the state of New York, R.M. Villoria began his writing career as a prolific songwriter. After two back-to-back tours as a Marine in Vietnam, Villoria spent the next few years owning and operating a myriad of businesses and in 1992 returned to writing, this time appeasing his appetite for suspense and horror fiction.
Born and raised in the state of New York, R.M. Villoria began his writing career as a prolific songwriter. After two back-to-back tours as a Marine in Vietnam, Villoria spent the next few years owning and operating a myriad of businesses and in 1992 returned to writing, this time appeasing his appetite for suspense and horror fiction.
Years in the making, his ghostly tales touching on the underpinnings of quantum physics and the paranormal are now ready for the public. As his first published work, Villoria presents readers with Volume One of his
series “Tales From the Mind Field.”
Villoria has a son and daughter and lives in Las Vegas with his Wife.
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