Spending Christmas with the Germans: Which rituals are important and why potato salad is part of a traditional celebration
Christmas hits on the radio and fairy lights bring festive cheer to the entire country
But German Christmas has many facets and distinctive features - here are answers to the most important questions
No. Although it is a Christian festival to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, Germans with no particular religious beliefs also celebrate Christmas
81 percent of the people living in Germany celebrated Christmas
Celebrating this festival is an important family tradition
Fewer and fewer people go to church at Christmas
a visit to the church was still an integral part of the Christmas programme for 23.6 percent of people
This figure dropped to 15.4 percent in 2022
This was revealed by a study conducted by the University of the Bundeswehr in Neubiberg
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One of the most popular and best-known customs is to put up and decorate a Christmas tree
There is still a clear trend on the question of whether to have a real or artificial tree at Christmas: 43 percent of those surveyed said that they will be putting up a real Christmas tree this year
This was revealed by an online survey carried out by Statista
Nearly one in two people (44 percent) give gift vouchers or simply money
according to the results of an Ernst & Young study. A slightly smaller percentage of people give toys (34 percent)
clothing (32 percent) or books (30 percent)
There are two days of Christmas in Germany
has a hectic morning part and a festive evening part
shops remain open until noon and tend to be packed as people rush to buy their last remaining presents or food for the festive meal
Then it’s time to decorate the Christmas tree with fairy lights and baubles
Families get together in the early evening
Some have family traditions such as singing or playing music together
the presents that are under the Christmas tree can be unwrapped
Children write their wish lists weeks before Christmas and wait excitedly to discover whether they will get the presents they want
Young adults who have returned to their home town to see their family at Christmas often head out again late in the evening to meet up with old friends
Constanze Kleis wrote a book entitled “Gebrauchsanweisung für Weihnachten” (Instruction Manual for Christmas). We asked her what the essential elements of a typical german Christmas celebration are
candles or fairy lights and Christmas tree decorations
and a certain repertoire of Christmas carols
Good food and baked goods such as a stollen or Christmas biscuits like vanillekipferl
who do not necessarily have to be blood relatives
it is just as Nobel Literature Prize laureate Thomas Mann describes in his 1901 novel “Buddenbrooks”: everyone sings Christmas carols
Then there are the presents under the mighty fir tree
“decorated with silver tinsel (…) gifts lying everywhere”
Then an overwhelming abundance of foods and drinks is served up
the festival nowadays is no longer bound by such a rigid corset of rules
Christmas can be a successful combination of all kinds of rituals that make one feel cosy and comfortable
potato salad with sausages is still in pole position as far as favourite dishes for Christmas Eve are concerned
One survey shows that 288 hours are spent on average – mainly by women – preparing for the festival by the time Christmas Eve arrives
Traditionalists like to serve the family a goose with dumplings and red cabbage on Christmas Day
The Office for Christmas Carols in the Austrian city of Graz has around 12,000 songs in its archive
Christmas carols are a bit like the master key when it comes to unlocking the Christmas mood
90 percent of Germans would not wish to spend Christmas without them
The most famous carol in the world is without doubt “Silent Night”
It was first sung in Austria in 1818 and has been translated into more than 300 languages and dialects
I would say that a modern Christmas is characterised by a welcome relaxation of customs
Maybe not the best thing from an ecological point of view
people tend to focus nowadays on the original idea of the festival
namely that it’s a good thing to get the whole family together once a year to share a meal
To treat one another with gifts – including the gifts of being close and providing a sense of security – and in some cases to use material gifts to signal: I’ve been thinking about you and about your wishes
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People who engaged in resistance training exhaled fewer aerosol particles than those who did an endurance workout
The COVID-19 pandemic has frustrated millions of gym-goers, with fitness clubs being identified as infection hotspots. But there is good news: people are less likely to catch a virus from someone else during a weightlifting session than in a spin class, a study has found1
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Fungus from the human gut slows liver disease in mice
Heart-attack outcomes are worse in the morning when activity of protein duo dips
Memories of a cold place trigger bodily responses to warm up
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EL SEGUNDO, Calif., 14 Jan. 2015. Executives of semiconductor specialist Infineon Technologies AG in Neubiberg, Germany, have completed their acquisition of power electronics designer International Rectifier Corp
is to boost Infineon's expertise in gallium nitride (GaN) on silicon power semiconductor technology
This combination will accelerate and solidify Infineon’s position in GaN discretes and GaN system solutions
International Rectifier now is a wholly owned subsidiary of Infineon
The acquisition combines two power-management semiconductor companies
and will enable Infineon to complement its offerings broaden its range of products and grow its regional footprint
International Rectifier’s expertise in low-power
energy-efficient insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) and intelligent power modules
power metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs)
and digital power management ICs will integrate with Infineon’s offering in power devices and modules
Related: Infineon to boost expertise in GaN power semiconductors in buy of International Rectifier
"The acquisition of International Rectifier is an important step for Infineon to foster our position as a global market leader in power semiconductors," says Infineon CEO Reinhard Ploss
"The acquisition helps us to accelerate our strategic approach from product thinking to system understanding."
The combined company is led by Reinhard Ploss
strategy development and M&A; and Dominik Asam
The president of International Rectifier and of Infineon North America is Robert LeFort
For more information contact Infineon online at www.infineon.com, or International Rectifier at www.irf.com
has been Professor of Applied Mathematics at the Department of Business Administration since April 2023
To live up to her enthusiasm for both mathematics and biology
Anne von Raven studied mathematical biology at the Technical University of Munich (TUM)
She spent her subsequent PhD on "Modeling quorum sensing evolutionary dynamics in spatially structured bacterial populations" partly in a microbiology lab in England
in addition to analytical and numerical calculations at her desk
Anne von Raven switched to software development in 2017
use cases for medical research were her main concern
she led various mathematical-technical projects
including digital pathology and smartphone-based medical diagnosis
she taught mathematics at Rosenheim Technical University and supervised students at her company
von Raven hopes to pass on her love of mathematics to students in her courses using modern teaching methods
Her wide-ranging experience in the practical application of mathematics helps her to make the subject more tangible for students
Back to overview Department of Business Administration
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has been appointed Professor of Leadership and Organizational Behavior at the Department of Economics and Management in July 2021
His research focuses on effective leadership strategies for fostering well-being
Key topics include the management of diversity and inclusion
and success factors for new forms of leadership and organization
His scientific work has been funded by the Swiss Commission for Technology and Innovation (Innosuisse) and the Basic Research Fund of the University of St.Gallen
The findings from his research have been published in leading international journals
including the Journal of Management Studies
Journal of Organizational Behavior and The Leadership Quarterly
The transfer of scientific findings into business practice and management education is a core area of Hendrik Hüttermann's work
As an expert in the field of people analytics
he has cooperated with a variety of companies and enjoys working with leaders as a speaker
he has extensive experience with teaching courses on Bachelor
administrative science and management at the University of Konstanz
where he also received his PhD in organizational behavior
he worked for several years as a scientific project leader and lecturer at the Institute for Leadership and Human Resource Management at the University of St.Gallen (I.FPM-HSG)
He gained practical experience at the Baden-Württemberg Leadership Academy and Robert Bosch GmbH
Back to Overview Department of Economics and Management
has been appointed Professor of Personnel and Organizational Development at the Department of Business Administration in December 2021
Schmid studied psychology at the University of Bamberg and the University of London and subsequently worked for several years as an HR Business Partner at General Electric's European research center
she joined the Technical University of Munich (TUM)
where she received her doctorate summa cum laude and most recently headed the Center for Digital Leadership Development
she accepted a professorship for Responsible Leadership at Munich Business School
Ellen Schmid teaches and researches in the field of human resources
with a focus on leadership development in a digital world
Her research has been published in leading international journals
and she received various awards for her work
including the TUM School of Management’s Teaching Award
the Academy of Management’s Junior Faculty Best Paper Award and the TUM Dissertation Award
Back to overview Department of Business Administration
Migration and Social Mobility at the Department of Social Sciences and Public Affairs since March 2023
political science and Islamic studies at the University of Freiburg and the École des hautes études en sciences sociales in Paris
Johara Berriane completed her doctorate at Freie Universität Berlin
She was then a visiting researcher at the International Migration Institute in Oxford and the Zentrum Moderner Orient in Berlin
as well as a postdoctoral fellow at the Chaire d'études africaines comparées of the Ecole d'économie et de gouvernance in Rabat
She later researched and taught in Dakar as part of the transnational research group on the bureaucratization of African societies initiated by the German Historical Institute Paris and the Centre de recherche sur les politiques sociales
she was a researcher and co-director of the research focus "Mobility
Reconfiguration of Spaces" at the Centre Marc Bloch in Berlin and taught at the Humboldt University Berlin
she also worked as an expert consultant for humanitarian aid organizations in West and North Africa
Johara Berriane's research focuses on African student migration
the social production of religious urban spaces
and the humanitarian governance of flight and migration
She has conducted field research in Morocco
At the University of the Bundeswehr Munich
Johara Berriane will work on the social and cultural impact of African flight and migration movements
as well as on the production of knowledge about flight
and social mobility from an interdisciplinary and transregional comparative perspective
she will participate in the development of the cultural studies program
Back to overview Department of Social Sciences and Public Affairs
has been Professor of Education with a focus on Organizational Education at the Department of Human Sciences since January 2021
sociology and economics at Bielefeld University
Sebastian Manhart completed his doctorate at Witten/Herdecke University on the emergence of political science
government and education at universities in the 18th and 19th centuries
As an assistant professor for general educational science at Trier University
he worked on pedagogical topics and on the development of the new research field and department for Organizational Education
He received the teaching award of Trier University in 2017 and represented the professorship of Organizational Education there before moving to Munich
has been Professor for Technical Thermodynamics and Energy Technology at the Department of Mechanical Engineering since October 2024
Christian Gierend studied energy and environmental technology in mechanical engineering at Tier University of Applied Sciences in 1991 before moving to the power plant in Mannheim (GKM) and from there to the plant manufacturer Preussag-Noell in Würzburg
He received the Trier University of Applied Sciences sponsorship award for his work with expert systems
he studied energy process engineering at the TU Bergakademie Freiberg
worked at the Institute for Energy Process Engineering and Chemical Engineering at Reiche Zeche and obtained his doctorate in engineering in 2000 with fuzzy control applications and artificial neural networks in the power plant and steel industry
Gierend has been a lecturer at the Kraftwerkschule e.V
Essen since 1995 and also a lecturer at the Bundeswehr Command and Staff College in Hamburg since 2000 with the rank of lieutenant colonel (2003)
he completed almost 1,000 days of military training as a reservist in many different assignments
he took over the professorship of the Montan Foundation at the htw saar in Saarbrücken
Until his appointment to the University of the Bundeswehr Munich
he headed the Laboratory for Energy and Combustion Technology and the Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence Methods in Process Engineering
he and his colleagues have implemented and published this topic on fuzzy control
digital twin and deep learning in many national and international research projects
Christian Gierend is member of the scientific advisory board of the “Berlin Conference on Waste Management and Energy” (BKAWE) and on the scientific advisory board of the “German Association for Waste Management” (DGAW)
He intends to use his almost 18 years of experience as a professor and scientist at the University of the Federal Armed Forces in Munich to design interesting and practical lectures and to pave the way for students' future engineering careers through further industrial and research work
Back to overview Department of Mechanical Engineering (in German)
has held the professorship for Digital Transformation at the Department of Business Administration since 1 January 2020
Müller-Langer's teaching and research focuses on the effects of digital transformation on companies
His main research areas are digital economy
economics of innovation and data economics
Prior to his appointment to the University of the Bundeswehr Munich
Frank Müller-Langer worked in Seville as an economist at the Joint Research Centre of the EU Commission (Digital Economy Unit) and as a senior research fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition in Munich (Department: Innovation and Entrepreneurship Research
He was a visiting researcher at the renowned US universities UC Berkeley and Columbia as well as at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand
Müller-Langer continues to be closely associated with the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition as an affiliated research fellow
Müller-Langer holds a degree in economics and a degree in business administration and was awarded a doctorate (Dr
pol.) from the Department of Economics at the University of Hamburg
he combines an interdisciplinary approach with an empirical research focus
His current research projects cover topics such as the digital transformation of the labour market (especially online labour market platforms)
data platforms in the automotive industry)
and the effects of digitization in science (especially open science
Department of Business Administration Back to overview
The whole IMCS team congratulates Sergejs Rogovs on his successful PhD graduation! The oral examination for his dissertation entitled "Pointwise Error Estimates for Boundary Control Problems on Polygonal Domains" took place on Monday, 25 June under the chairmanship of Prof. Klaus Bogenberger. The examiners were Prof. Thomas Apel
Dmitriy Leykekhman (University of Connecticut)
The new preprint presents a surrogate modeling framework for predicting the effective contact area in rough surface contact problems
IMCS took part in the traditionally annual GAMM Conference
The 95th edition of the event was held from April 7 to 11
We welcome Aswin Nath and Simon Völkl to our team
Guest Lecture in Salzburg: Katharina Lorenz Returns to Her Alma Mater
who joined our team as postdoctoral researcher in February
The new preprint describes the design of Trilinos
introduces its new organization in product areas
and highlights established and newly available features
The IMCS participated in the 3rd IACM Digital Twins in Engineering (DTE 2025) and the 1st ECCOMAS Artificial Intelligence and Computational Methods in Applied Sciences (AICOMAS 2025) conferences
The event featured insightful talks and interdisciplinary discussions
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