December 6 St. Nicholas Day in Germany. St. Nicholas Day, or Eve, is celebrated on December 6. This is the favorite holiday of all children – it’s a gift-giving day. When evening comes, St. Nicholas, a reverend gray-haired figure with flowing beard, wearing gorgeous bishop’s garments, gold embroidered cope, mitre and pastoral staff, knocks … [Read more...]

December 5 Feast Day of St. Nicetius von Trier (? – 566) St. Nicetius served as bishop of Trier during the turbulent times after the break up of the Roman empire and during the period when the Franks were beginning their domination of Europe. The city of Trier had been badly damaged during the years prior to Nicetius. The cathedral had been … [Read more...]

December 4, 1875 Birth of Rainer Maria Rilke in Prague, Austria-Hungary (now in the Czech Republic). Rilke is the most known and respected of the German-language poets of the 20th century. His life was a series of wanderings and experiments with new poetic structures. Rilke was widely recognized as one of the most lyrically intense … [Read more...]

December 3, 1483 Birth of Nikolaus von Amsdorf in Torgau, Germany. Amsdorf was a professor of theology at the University of Wittenberg. He was a close friend of Martin Luther. After the trial at the Diet of Worms, he was one of those responsible for hiding Luther at the Wartburg. In later years he struggled against what he considered the too … [Read more...]

December 2, 1817 Birth of Heinrich von Sybel in Düsseldorf, Germany. Sybel was a historian who had studied with Ranke in Berlin. His early books show the critical method of Ranke. He became deeply involved in politics, however, and came to view history as a means to educate for specific purposes. He came to be a firm believer in Prussia's … [Read more...]