How Christmas has changed in Germany since 1945

Christmas has gone through changes in Germany. From post-war hunger and essential-gifts-only to the luxury of the country's economic miracle in the 1950s, to this year's debate on whether powering up extravagant Christmas lights are ethical, when there is war in Europe.

1945: Germany was still in ruins during the first Christmas after a devastating war. Refugees and homeless people roamed the streets as survivors started rebuilding a nation that had been destroyed by war. That Christmas, people were simply focused on finding shelter and enough food to survive a long winter.

1946-1949: Charity organizations distributed gifts, chocolate and sweets to impoverished children during years that were marked by hunger for many. It was said that the lack of food and housing also brought people together. Many made a great effort to somehow celebrate Christmas with what little food or gifts they had.

1950s: As West Germany began to develop thanks to a postwar economic and industrial boom, Christmas celebrations reflected growing affluence. Most gifts were still practical in nature such as clothes, bed linen or cookery utensils but children also started to receive new toys.

1950-1959: As Communist-led East Germany solidified a secular, socialist ideal, its leadership decided to "de-Christianize" Christmas, just as the Nazi regime had attempted to do in the 1930s and 1940s. Christmas became a non-religious family gathering named "year's end fest" or "peace festival."

1960-1969: Traditional wood carvings from the Ore Mountains in Saxony near the border with former Czechoslovakia were highly popular, including in West Germany. They soon turned into one of East Germany's bestselling exports.

1960-1969: In West Germany, people were becoming more prosperous. Christmas gifts grew more valuable and expensive, extending into new areas such as technology and luxury goods. But at the same time, more people were criticizing the new consumerist spirit of the event, ostensibly eroding the Christian origins of the holiday.

1970s: The growing culture of gift giving turned Christmas into the most important holiday of the year for retailers. Theologians complained that Easter was actually the most significant day in the Christian calendar and that the meaning of Christmas was being corrupted and commercialized.

1980s: West Germans had finally arrived in the age of mass consumerism. Gifts were no longer essential items and people bought things for fun rather than out of real need.

1990s: After the country's reunification in 1989, many families who had been separated by borders between East and West Germany spent the holiday together for the first time. Many East Germans opted to shop for presents in the West, helping business boom in the west even as the economy slumped in the east.

By 2023, polls show only around 56% of Germans consider themselves secular, believing in no religion. A growing number of young people in Germany attend "Christmas after-parties," events they'd go to after the customary spartan dinner and gift-giving at home. With a more relaxed attitude toward the religious aspect of the festivities, Christmas becomes more of a social event.

In 2022, the energy crisis due to the war in Ukraine led German politicians to recommend abstaining from Christmas lighting to save power. Amid the climate emergency, there has also been debates surrounding how ethical it is to have elaborately-lit Christmas displays: Was it really necessary to have that Santa Claus hanging from the balcony, or a fleet of reindeer with blinking noses on your roof?