Weekend Events for the Whole Family in Berlin, Dec 23rd - 26th and all the way to the 29th, including Hanukkah

Christmas Markets during and after the Holiday

• Until January 1st: Winter World in Potsdamer Platz

• Alexanderplatz: On the 24th till 4pm 

• Breitscheidplatz (Europa Centre): Until January 1st On the 24th till 2pm, on the 25th/26th from 1 till 9 pm 

• Charlottenburg Palace : 12 to 8pm on the 25th/26th (closed on the 24th, the 26th is the last day)

• Opernpalais: Until January1st, on the 25th/26th 11.30 - 9pm, closed on the 24th 

Other Christmas-Related Events

• Every year, fans of Berlin's football (soccer) club FC Union are joining together to sing hymns and spread happiness. A very impressive event, Friday 23rd, at 5pm, in the Stadion Alte Foersterei (details)

• Another tradition, this time highly commercialised, is the Coca Cola Christmas Truck. They come on the 23rd, from 2pm, to the Brandenburg Gate and

Hanukkah

In general

• Candles and menorah can be bought in Judaica stores (e.g. Levy's in Hackescher Hoefe), or home-made, free ones (albeit pretty simple) are given by Chabad

• Sufganyot can be of course purchased as Pfannkuchen in every bakery, but for home-made upgraded ones, Yuval Belans offers a variety of interesting combinations (details)

Yuval Balens' Sufganyot

First Candle, December 24th

• Lighting in Pestalozzistrasse, from 4pm 
• Lighting the candles, singing and eating at the Fraenkelufer Synagogue, from 4:30pm 
• Lighting in Bleibergs, from 6pm (details)
• Party (as in clubbing) at midnight and onwards: Knusperhouse in Ritter Butzke (details) 

Second Candle, December 25th 

• Menorah lighting in Alexanderplatz (near Galeria Kaufhof, between the department store and the 200 bus station) , 6pm 

Third Candle, December 26th

• A guided tour for children in German: "Plätzchen, Latkes, Kerzenschein", about the two holidays. Organised by Stattreisen (not sure how it is) 2pm near the Bode (details)

• Chanukkah on Ice - at the Ice Stadium in Wilmersdorf , from 6:30 pm

Fourth Candle, December 27th 

• The annual tradition: the big Menorah lighting in Brandenburg Gate , starting at 6:30 pm

Fifth Candle, December 28th

• At 6:30 pm: a special Hanukkah concert with rabbi Walter Rothchild and the Minyan Boys, at the Mendelssohn Remise (details)

Sixth Candle, December 29th

• Bubales are back with the Hanukkah puppet theatre! With a Hanukkah party at the Rykestr Synagogue, from 4 pm (please register in advance) 

Seventh Candle, December 30th 

While officially in the next week, it has been already announced that there will be a lighting at the Oranienburger Str Synagogue at 3:30 pm 

Furthermore

• The Peter Pan children opera, Komische Oper, Monday 26th , 4pm 

• On the 26th, at 10:00, a fun run through Grunewald, costumes preferred! (details)

• Every day - Christmas circus in two versions: by Roncalli in the Tempodrom, and the "Berlin Christmas Circus" in the Olympic Stadium (details)

About Me

I offer tours in Berlin as well as write about the city as well as published several books and articles in general. I am always free for writing gigs - travel writing or any other types of writing and research - or of course to show you the wonderful city I live in