The First Day of School in Germany is always picture perfect. See what makes the Einschulung so sweet and memorable.
In my day, the beginning of the school year started in spring and not after the summer break. With a new backpack, a pretzel, and a Zuckertuete (school cone), I was prepared for my First Day of School, or “Einschulung,” as we say in Germany . The backpack was purchased by my godmother, my mother got the school cone and filled it up with goodies, and the pretzels were prepared by the bakery in the village. The pretzels were decorated with pink ribbons for the girls and blue ribbons for the boys. We started out with a church service, followed by a walk to the school where the traditional pictures were taken. After going to the classroom to pick our seats, I went home to celebrate with my family, my godmother and friends. We shared and ate the pretzel with coffee for the grown ups and milk for the children. (The picture above was my First Day of School. I’m sitting in the first row, fifth student from the left—looking away from the camera.)
Scroll down to find the recipe for the school pretzel and the instructions for the sugar cone, as well as the instructions for a downloadable invitation for a First Day of School celebration.
First day of School in the fifties and sixties in Germany.
I was very proud on my first day of elementary school and felt very special. I thought every school year would begin this way. But to my surprise, the following year, there was no pretzel. And no school cone. This was a one-time event. No wonder that Einschulung day is still so vivid in my mind.
Safety First
Most of the children in Germany are still walking to school. To protect the first graders in traffic, they wear a bright yellow/orange cap, so that they can be easily seen by passing drivers.
I wish every newcomer to school life a great start and hope their first day of school is as exciting as mine was.
Yours, Oma
