Christmas at Elldus Resort

The Ore Mountains are renowned for their deep-rooted traditions of craftsmanship and folk customs. One of the best-known traditions is undoubtedly the decoration with handmade incense men. For almost 200 years, as the ‘Raacherkarzln’ burn, the ‘Mannln’ have been wafting their plumes of smoke through the parlours of the Ore Mountains.

This is the name given in the mining industry to the last shift before Christmas – the miners’ end-of-year celebration, so to speak. In almost all of the region’s visitor mines and in many towns and villages, you can look forward to traditional miners’ music, a hearty feast and mulled wine.
 

The sea of lights evokes the miners’ longing for light. In the past, families would place candles in their windows to show them the way home. This gave rise to the ‘Schwibbögen’ – their shape reminiscent of a mine entrance.

Christmas lights are reflected on the ice; you listen dreamily to songs, the crunch of the snow and the soft scraping of the skates. The warm scent of mulled wine gently wafts through the cold air … and then there’s the cheerful laughter of children: that’s the unique atmosphere at the ice rink!

In the old days, during the dark, cold winter months, people would gather for a cosy get-together in a ‘Hutzenstub’ – usually a living room with a fireplace – for what was known as ‘Hutzn’. This was a way of saving energy at home. What’s more, it was simply wonderfully cosy when people got together to do handicrafts such as bobbin lace-making or woodcarving, as well as singing or telling stories!

Christmas without a Christstollen? Hard to imagine in the Ore Mountains! This traditional yeast cake originally consisted only of water, yeast, flour and oil, as butter was forbidden during the Advent fast. Today, sugar, raisins, almonds, candied lemon peel and spices give it its typical Christmas flavour. In fact, there are almost as many Stollen recipes as there are families in Saxony.

At the Christmas markets in the Ore Mountains, old traditions are still upheld to this day. With snow, roasted almonds and mulled wine, the mountain parades in the mining towns in particular create a festive atmosphere. The region’s diverse customs date back to the Middle Ages and form part of its intangible cultural heritage.

A twig here, a pine cone there, along with a cup of hot tea and delicious biscuits: when creative thoughts are swirling round in your head, a sense of calm descends on the sometimes stressful Christmas season. You’ll also find festive activities to suit the season in our family activity programme.

The Neinerlaa (Neunerlei) is the traditional Christmas meal in the Ore Mountains. Each component symbolises different wishes or memories. However, the selection of dishes varies greatly from region to region and from family to family. Usually, though, it includes bratwurst, lentils, sauerkraut, dumplings, nuts and bread-and-milk soup, as well as bread and salt. It is often served on special ‘Neinerlaa’ plates.