From the midday of December 24 at the latest, the majority of German employees say: Now the job is over, back home, pack the last presents. But that does not apply to everyone. Here, a farmer, a cabin manager, a pizza delivery company and an editorial assistant tell what it's like to work on Christmas Eve.
"Cattle are happiest when they have absolute monotony"
Farmer Jan-Christoph Wilkens (36) has a farm with 550 fattening bulls in Hamersen in Lower Saxony and grows the fodder for the animals themselves on 95 hectares
Private
Jan-Christoph Wilkens
"My parents still live on the farm. Christmas Eve, my mother always makes a classic feast, raclette or duck. But there is nothing special for the bulls at Christmas: cattle are happiest when they are absolutely monotonous. They are happy, if they get the same food every day, everything else would not be good for their digestion. Christmas Eve is actually quite relaxed during the day. Of course, I also have to take care of the animals, but since I only keep bulls now, it is manageable Two years ago I still had dairy cows, when the day was very tight; I only feed the bulls once a day, I drive all feed tables with the tractor, and two to three times a day you have to put the feed on the range again Every day I sprinkle new straw and muck out once a week, but I don't have to do that on Christmas Eve, I'm the fourth generation to run the farm Since 2006 I have been solely responsible for the operation. I love my job: As a farmer, you have an incredible number of options for realizing your ideas, no one is talking to me. My biggest Christmas wish would be more recognition for my work. There is a lack of understanding and trust for the important contribution we make. "
"Sometimes I take fairy lights and poinsettias from home"
Adrian Neuenfels-Klitzschmüller (38), cabin manager, does not yet know where he will celebrate Christmas this year
TuiFly
Adrian Neuenfels-Klitzschmüller
So that I have free time on New Year's Eve, I've almost always been working on Christmas for 18 years. Anyone who registers for a shift on this day generally does so very consciously - and that is why the other crew members usually have a great desire to spend the evening - wherever - together. My husband usually travels with flights of several days so that we don't have to celebrate Christmas separately. That's how I celebrated the craziest parties: one day it was a tapas evening in Las Palmas with food from the supermarket, another time it was a raclette dinner in a hotel room in Baden-Baden. Sometimes I take fairy lights and poinsettias from home to decorate the hotel room. In the evening we hand out small gifts to each other - and make ourselves comfortable in the distance.
In order to prepare our passengers for Christmas on the plane, we sometimes decorate our service vehicles or wear Christmas hats. However, you have to be careful not to overdo it: Especially on the morning of December 24th, there are enough people on the plane who don't want anything to do with Christmas and therefore travel to the beach. On the return flight in the evening, the plane is usually relatively empty.
This year I am on call from December 24th to 26th. That means: From 5 a.m. to 5 p.m., I have to prepare to fly at any time - to Dubai or Las Palmas, for example. Maybe I'll leave in the morning and come back in the evening, or maybe I'll be called on the first day for a flight lasting several days. If no one answers, my husband and I will eat potato salad and sausages on Christmas Eve, roast or chestnut soup on Christmas Day. If necessary, these dishes can also stand still for a few days. However, a red wine with food is not possible: I am not allowed to drink alcohol twelve hours before each service.
"The customers seem a little nicer to me than usual"
Karim Dhaoui (34) works in a pizza branch in Wolfsburg, which is also open at Christmas
Patryk Szewczyszyn
Karim Dhaoui
"This year I will be working on Christmas for the fourth time in a row. I usually deliver pizzas, but during the holidays I always fill in the kitchen as an emergency staff. We open at 11am and close at 11pm - that's why my Christmas dinner is also this year probably a quick pizza in between.
Because for me, December 24th is pure stress. When my boss started opening the store at Christmas a few years ago, we thought that hardly anyone would come anyway. We now sell half as many pizzas as on regular days, with more customers coming from year to year. On the one hand, there are those who order by phone because they have to work themselves: firefighters, police officers, nursing staff in old people's homes. On the other hand, more and more guests are coming who have made last errands quickly in the city and then sit down with us. Especially in the afternoon and early evening, the shop is almost completely full with a wide variety of customers: individual guests, friends, couples, young, old, Muslim customers who do not celebrate or even Catholic, who did not like the family meal.
At Christmas, customers seem a little nicer to me than usual, both on the phone and when delivering the pizza. Many don't expect us to be open and still try out our number to try it out. Then when we go there, they're all the more happy. Sometimes our drivers even get a bar of chocolate or a chocolate Santa as a thank you. "
"The cardboard box is popular, placed next to household waste"
Heiko Nauschütz, 50, works at the Hamburg animal shelter Süderstraße as a full-time animal rescuer
"It is already beginning before Christmas that people bring us unloved animal gifts. Recently we had such a case: A middle-aged man brought us a puppy, which he allegedly found. He did not want to give us his details. My guess is that he bought the animal for his children for Christmas. But the puppy was sick, totally wormed. Probably he vomited several times and was not yet house-trained. The man just didn't feel like the animal anymore.
We at Animal Rescue are manned around the clock, including on public holidays. There is on-call duty at night, and we also go out at three in the morning to pick up an animal. Last year, 38 animals were abandoned here in Hamburg in the two weeks after Christmas. Dogs, cats, birds were there. In fact, this is no more than the annual average - most animals are abandoned at the beginning of the summer vacation.
The cardboard box, placed next to household waste, is popular. There is a note on it: "This is Max and Moritz, three years old, please take good care of them." Two tame rats then sit in the box, completely filthy and malnourished.
We collect the animals, in our ambulance we have everything we need for these operations: protective gloves, transport boxes, different tools. I have to be as ready to catch a venomous snake as I am to put a pressure bandage on an injured paw.
I can't understand why people let their animals go so neglected and then just abandon them. Incidentally, this can be really expensive: if you get caught, you can expect a fine of up to 25,000 euros. If the abandoned animal dies, for example because it runs into a car or starves to death, this can even be punished with up to three years' imprisonment. There is such a simple solution: Not only are we animal rescuers always on duty, our shelter is also constantly staffed. If in doubt, it is still better to leave the animals there. "
"This mood is very special"
FFH
Veronika Leibig
Veronika Leibig (43 years) assists the program manager at Hitradio FFH and ensures that the listeners have someone to talk to even at Christmas
"On Christmas Eve, our radio station is cut out: only the moderator and the listener operators are there. They accept music requests 365 days a year, pass on traffic jam information or note participants for competitions. It is my job, my 30 colleagues Organizing in shifts - also on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. One operator is usually enough between 6 and midnight - on these two evenings, however, we fill twice: The colleagues should be a little nicer and less lonely, because at Christmas the news anchor himself free.
This mood is very special because otherwise a radio station can be rather busy. Of course listeners on Christmas Eve who are lonely. But they usually just want to talk, or - even if it sounds cheesy - just want to say thank you for accompanying us throughout the year. One would expect tragic cases to occur, but I am actually not aware of any.
On the contrary: The colleagues report that the shift is pleasant and almost contemplative - precisely because there are also many nice and grateful callers. Therefore, volunteers always report to work. Last year, for example, it was a colleague whose sister was also on the road as a flight attendant; they just made an appointment to celebrate for the 25th - and he could do the shift. Of course, we pay extra and provide sweets, snacks and sometimes small gifts on the handset. I am also on call on Christmas Eve if support is needed. It’s never happened in the five years I’ve been doing this job. ”