- en
Christkind pays a surprise visit to Nuremberg’s clinic
Each year in Nuremberg, a young woman is selected to represent Christkind in the weeks preceding Christmas and surprises the youngest residents with gifts. This year’s Nuremberg Christkind Teresa Windschall paid a surprise visit to one of the city’s clinics, accompanied by the mayor of Nuremberg Marcus König.
Mayor Marcus König stated on social media: “Our Nuremberg Christkind brings joy, small gifts and encouragement especially to children.”
“Today she visited children in the Südklinikum and brought small presents for the little patients and their siblings. Despite distance and safety precautions, there were many shining children’s eyes – “Look, there is Christkind!,” he continued.
Christkind’s visit to the clinic has grown to be a much-loved routine which is cherished by the youngest patients every holiday season. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the event was canceled last year. This year, it took place in an adjusted format and in compliance with the current coronavirus measures, which is why gifts were left on the windowsills of children’s rooms.
“That makes your heart open. A stay in the hospital is anyway a burden for our little ones, so we are very happy that Christkind visited us again this year and that we can offer our children something a bit different,” said Judith Peltner, Nursing Manager at the clinic.
Christkind was initially intended to be an allusion to Jesus’ incarnation as a baby, but it is nowadays most commonly shown as a spirit-like child with blond hair, angel wings and a halo. Aside from Germany, the figure is also present in a number of other European countries such as Austria, Czech Republic, Liechtenstein, Hungary, Slovakia and Switzerland.
According to tradition, Christkind is a mysterious gift-bringer and children are not supposed to see her. Due to the popularity of Santa Claus as an advertising character, Christkind has lately been experiencing increasing competition from the Weihnachtsmann, the Santa’s German version. (photo credit: Giulia Iannicelli/Klinikum Nürnberg)
