20th December 2022: Christmas Cards from Germany

Christmas Mail from Me

Like every year I have once again send some Christmas cards to myself to collect the special postmarks. I sent them all out on 10th December.

The first card returned one week later on 17th December. It shows this cute illustration of forest animals sending mail. 

This card is however not from Germany, but arrived from Switzerland. I really like the Swiss Christmas stamps (issued 11-11-2021), ordered some online and saw that it is possible to get a Swiss Christmas postmark. So of course I had to take the chance. I was really suprised that this was the first card to arrive. Within one week it travelled from Germany to Switzerland, was perfectly postmarked and came back. That is true Swiss efficiency!

The first German card arrived on 21st December and it is the most hilarious Christmas card I have seen in the shops this year. Kloß is the German word for dumpling, so the card plays with the fact that Kloß sounds a bit like Clause and shows a dumpling with a Santa's hat.

On this card I got a postmark from the Christmas Market in Erfurt. The market as such I think was cancelled last-minute due to Covid-19, but as the stalls were already set up, they were allowed to remain and some could even sell their goods.

The second German card arrived on the same day and it shows an illustration similar to the first card.

Actually I was not planning to get this postmark for myself, but I was a bit absent-minded and put the card in the wrong cover. This is from Engelskirchen.

The last card took a day longer and arrived on 22nd December. I chose this card to get the postmark I actually wanted when I realised my mistake with the other card just on time.

Here is the postmark from St. Nikolaus that I get every year. It is a bit special this year, as on 6th December 2011 I got my first stamp album, so a personal jubilee for me.

Germany: Christmas

On Wednesday I got three postcards from Germany.

One of them is the annual Christmas card I sent to myself.

Like usual I sent it using the special postmark from St. Nikolaus. 

Germany: St. Nikolaus

On 10th December I got two postcards: one from Germany and one from South Korea.

The card from Germany is a Christmas card.

I bought this card in my home town and used it to get a special postmark.

With a matching stamp:
Christmas Friends (issued 02-11-2019)
with a special postmark from the Christmas Post Office in St. Nikolaus

Germany: Cows in Schmelz

On Saturday I got five postcards: four from Germany and one from Ireland.

One of the cards from Germany shows a landscape view of Schmelz with cows in the foreground. Schmelz is a municipality in the German State of Saarland. 

Stamp:
Emoji (issued 04-04-2019)

Thank You very much Hanko!

Germany: Christmas Postcard

Last Saturday I got three postcards from Germany.

One of them is a cute Christmas postcard.

I sent this card to myself to get a special postmark.

With a related stamp:
Christmas (issued 02-11-2018)
with a special Christmas postmark from St Nikolaus

Frohe Weihnachten!

Merry Christmas to Everyone!

On Tuesday I got my two German Christmas cards with special postmarks.

The first one shows Santa Claus with a big Lebkuchen heart. Lebkuchen is a traditional German baked Christmas treat. It consists of a big part of nuts and is usually covered with chocolate. The most famous types of Lebkuchen come from Nuremburg, Aachen and Basel.

Stamp:
Christmassy Chapel (issued 02-11-2017)
with a special postmark of this year's Christkindlesmarkt in Nuremberg

The second one shows Castor and Frippe preparing for Christmas. Castor and Frippe are two children's book characters created by Lars Klinting, who appeared in seven of his books.

Stamp:
Attendance of the Three Kings (issued 02-11-2017)
with a special postmark from the Christmas Post Office in St. Nikolaus

Germany: Saarland from Papersisters

On Thursday I got a postcard from Germany.

It is Papersisters' German Landmark postcard of the Saarland. The Saarland is a state of the Federal Republic of Germany since 1957. Before that it was a French protectorate with its own money and stamps. In 1955 the inhabitants rejected the offered independence and chose to become a part of West Germany instead. It now borders on Rhineland-Palatinate, France and Luxembourg. By area it is the fourth smallest state of Germany and by population the second smallest. Saarbrücken is the capital and only big city of the Saarland. A famous sight of the state are the Völklingen Ironworks.

With a matching stamp:
50 years Saarland (issued 02-01-2007)
with a special postmark about the 60th anniversary of the Saarland

Frohe Weihnachten!

Merry Christmas to Everyone!

Perfect in time for Christmas my self-sent postcards came back with special postmarks.

The first one shows a Bauble. Baubles were first produced in the German town Lauscha in 1847 and soon became an export hit. Today they belong to the most popular Christmas ornaments. 

With a matching stamp:
Christmas (issued 30-11-2016)
with a special postmark from Bodenmais

The second one shows a beautiful Christmas illustration.

Stamp:
Annunciation to the Shepherds (issued 02-11-2016)
with a special postmark about the 50th anniversary of the Christmas Post Office in St Nikolaus

Germany: Pettson and Findus

Merry Christmas to everyone!

Today I got two postcards from Germany.

One of them shows Pettson and Findus. Pettson and Findus are the main characters in a children's book series of the same, which is written by Swedish author Sven Nordqvist since 1984. Pettson is an old farmer living in the Swedish countryside. Findus is his cat and often behaves like a small child, as he can talk to Pettson and stand up on his two hind legs. The books mainly take off from simple event like gardening or preparing for Christmas. The illustration on the card is from the seventh book of the series, The Mechanical Santa.

I bought this card in my hometown and used it to get a special postmark.

Stamp:
Presenting Joy (issued 02-11-2015)
with a special postmark of the Christmas post office in St. Nikolaus

Germany: State Theatre in Saarbrücken

On Thursday I got thirteen postcards including three from Germany.

One of the German cards shows the State Theatre in Saarbrücken. The State Theatre was built between 1937 and 1938 in the Neoclassic style. It was planned as German stronghold against France and opened in 1938 attended by Adolf Hitler. The building was destroyed during World War II, but was later rebuilt. Today the theatre shows musical theatres, plays, dance theatres and concerts. 

Stamp:
Chiemsee (from set of two) (issued 01-07-2015)

Thank You very much Hanko!

Germany: Weiskirchen

Today I got three postcards: one from Germany, one from Malaysia and one from Italy.

The card from Germany shows Weiskirchen. Weiskirchen is a municipality in the German State of Saarland. 

The card was sent from the Postcrossing Meet-up in Weiskirchen.
Stamp:
Dresden (from set of two) (issued 03-04-2014)

Thank You very much!

Germany: Water Tower in Völklingen

On Wednesday I got four postcards: two from Germany, one from Singapore and one from Hong Kong

One of the cards from Germany shows the water tower of the Völklingen Ironworks in the German State of Saarland. The water tower was built to provide the Ironworks with water for the iron making. The water came from the River Saar. 

Stamp:
Dresden (from set of two) (issued 03-04-2014)

Thank You very much Hanko!

Germany: Saarbrücken

Today I got three postcards: two from Germany and one from Spain.

One of the cards from Germany shows some views of Saarbrücken. Saarbrücken is the capital city and the largest city of the German State of Saarland. Saarbrücken is also the only big city in Saarland. A famous sight of Saarbrücken is the Ludwigskirche (big picture on the left). The Ludwigskirche is located in Old Saarbrücken and is considered to be one of Germany's most important Protestant churches in the Baroque style.

Stamp:
Glücksburg Castle (from set of two) (issued 02-01-2013)

Thank You very much Hanko!

Germany: St. Nikolaus

 On Thursday I got five postcards from Germany.

One of the cards is a Christmas card postmarked at the Christmas post office in St. Nikolaus. Although Christmas letters from St. Nikolaus are sent since 1966, the Christmas post office only exists since 2005. It is supported by the Deutsche Post.

Stamp:
Snowman (issued 03-11-2014)
with the special postmark of the Christmas post office in St. Nikolaus

Germany: map

Today I got a great postcard from Germany.

The card shows a map of Germany divided into States, eight famous sights and cities of Germany and the coat of arms of all 16 States and of the federation. From 1952 to 1957 Germany was made up of the nine States Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, Lower Saxony, Bremen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria. In 1957 joined the Saarland the federation and in 1990 the former GDR with the states Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia and Saxony joined the Federal Republic of Germany. Berlin was during the division of Germany neither a part of the Federal Republic nor of the GDR. Berlin, Bremen and Hamburg are city states while the other 13 are area states. The States have their own legislative, judiciary and executive. Germany is bordered by Denmark, Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, Belgium and by the Netherlands. Germany is a member of the EU, of the UN, of the OECD, of the the NATO and of the G7. The capital of Germany was until 1990 Bonn in North Rhine-Westphalia and is since then Berlin. The biggest cities of Germany are Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Cologne and Frankfurt am Main. 

Stamp:
Janosch (from set of two) (issued 01-03-2013)

Thank you very much Sandra!

Germany: Lebach

I just returned from my city trip to Vienna and during my trip arrived many postcards. Among the cards are four German cards.

One of them shows Lebach. Lebach is a town in the German State of Saarland. 

I got this card a few weeks ago in an envelope.

Stamp:
Centenary of World War I (issued 07-08-2014)
with a special postmark about field post
During World War I the field post was used to connect the front and the homeland. Over 8000 people worked for the German field post and during the war over 27billion mailings were processed by the German field post.

Thank You very much Hanko for sending me the card in a cover!