A Santa Claus rides with Christmas presents on December 12, 2012 in Mellensee, eastern Germany. Christmas, or Weihnachten, is considered by Germans to be the most important of the major holidays.

Although secularised and commercialised compared to Christmas celebrations of yore, the German holiday season is a time for introspection, celebration, and family and friends.

A Santa Claus pulls a Christmas tree on December 12, 2012 in Mellensee, eastern Germany. In Germany Christmas is less consumption-oriented than in the United States.

Visitors walk past illuminated stands of a Christmas market at the Hauptmarkt in Trier, western Germany.

Visitors walk past illuminated stands of a Christmas market at the Hauptmarkt in Trier, western Germany.

Pedestrians walking on Maximilian street reflect in Christmas tree balls decorating a shop on December 12, 2012 in Munich, southern Germany.

A pedestrian walks past the Reichstag, the building housing the lower house of parliament with its Christmas tree lit up.