A German Christmas
German Advent Calendar: Fact of the Day
3. Dezember: Stollen und Striezel
German Christmas bread goes by many different names in German: Stollen, Strutzel, Striezel, Stutenbrot, or Christstollen. No matter the name, the custom of baking bread or cake containing raisins and other fruits at Christmas goes back to Bohemia (Böhmen) and Saxony (Sachsen) in the 14th century. The city of Dresden in Saxony has played a big role in the history of Stollen. Dresden lays claim to having the oldest Weihnachtsmarkt in Germany, mentioned in documents as early as 1434. In 1730 the Dresden baker Zacharias baked a giant stollen so large, it took eight horses to pull it out of the oven. But most stollen today are the size of a normal loaf of bread, usually covered with white powdered sugar. Tradition has it that the stollen loaf symbolizes the baby Jesus wrapped in “swaddling clothes.”
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A collection of recipes for delicious Christmas goodies!
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