Schultüte: a bag of a first grader in Germany. The history of a traditional gift for a first grader in Germany How to make a bag of a first grader
In the photo - I'M IN 1st CLASS! 🙂
Moms, dads, grandparents of first graders! Please accept my sincere congratulations! I propose to arrange a fun holiday on September 1, .
I will continue about the gift to the first grader ...
In 1979, my parents visited the GDR and brought me, a first grader, here is such a traditional schultüten(unfortunately, the photo with him was not preserved, I just found a similar one) - a bag for a first grader, which all children in united Germany receive to this day.
No one else had such a gift. I mean not only the form, but also the content.
Tell?
There were not only never-before-seen sweets, but also a bunch of little things that had nothing to do with school. This is what I mean, surprise!
Not a single first-grader of a ruler-sharpener-notebook considers it a gift, I hope you know this.
But tiny toys - just right!
For girls, you need to mix small dolls, stamps, hairpins, stickers, children's jewelry with sweets.
For boys, a candy mix with cars, tiny robots, Bakugan, slimes, jumpers, whistles and magnifiers is suitable.
Look, maybe there is something else suitable here: .
In Germany, such a gift to a first-grader is sold on every corner, but in our country this beautiful tradition has not taken root for some reason. If you have first graders in your family rest assured you will make them very happy.
Do-it-yourself gift for a first grader
Everything is simple. On a sheet of A3 cardboard, use a pen and thread to draw a sector with a maximum radius. We need two such blanks in order to make two identical cones using adhesive tape. A little later we will invest one in the other.
To the outer edge of the 1st cone, we fasten double-folded corrugated paper with adhesive tape (we use its entire width, and the length depends on the diameter of the cone).
We also fasten a bright ribbon that will serve as a handle with tape. All! The first part is ready.
Wrap the 2nd cone with contrasting paper, wrap the edges inward, also attach with adhesive tape from the inside. Now grease the outer side of the first cone with glue and insert the workpiece into the second bright cone .
We lay sweets and small gifts, tie the top with a beautiful bow. Ready! Stickers and applications - at your discretion.
The size of such a gift can be from 40 cm to ... Sometimes a gift for a first grader is made higher than the first grader himself :-).
The main "belonging" of a first grader in Germany has a century and a half tradition. This is a big bright bag - "Schultüte", with which the kids come to school on their first day of school.
Smartly dressed kids march proudly, escorted by their parents and grandparents. The first time in the first class is unforgettable! Behind him is a brand new knapsack, in his hands is a huge bright bag, which is called Schultüte, that is, "school bag". Already in the classroom, sitting at a desk, first-graders will finally untie the ribbon and be able to look inside ...
Today is a holiday for the girl Leoni. She glued her yellow and purple school bag before the summer holidays - together with the teacher and with other children in the older group of kindergarten. But what the elders put in it, I found out only at school. Grandmother Maria put a new Barbie doll for her beloved granddaughter - exactly the one that Leonie had been dreaming of for the past six months.
Now no one can say with accuracy why exactly a bag of almost a meter in length has become an indispensable accessory for German first-graders. 150 years ago, they began to see them off to school, putting everything they needed: a board with a lead and chalk, breakfast, sweets, and so on, into a bag. Perhaps sweets (and they are given to children very often on this day) just needed to be packed in such a way that the children would not eat them already on the way to school. The "pioneers" here were the inhabitants of Saxony and Thuringia. There, in the middle of the 19th century, the custom of "collecting" bags from a magical "school" tree, described in a then popular children's book, spread.
Specialized content
Be that as it may, but for many years the first school photograph in Germany cannot be imagined without the traditional multi-colored bag in the hands of a baby. The idea of handing these bags-gifts to first-graders gradually - it took almost 100 years - spread throughout Germany. Confectioners and manufacturers of sweets in every possible way "warmed up" the tradition. But toys, coloring books were also put in bags. Over the years, colored pencils, paints, unusually shaped erasers, audio cassettes appeared in "school bags" ... Miniature at first, the bags grew to impressive sizes.
Most often, future first-graders glue and paint them, like Leoni, on their own. But on sale there is a huge variety of different "factory" gift bags. Moreover, already with content and not only standard (sweets and stationery), but also "specialized": especially for boys or girls, for pet lovers, football fans ... The producers of "school bags" lament only one thing: tradition this one outside of Germany, Switzerland and Austria did not take root.
Unusual trees live in the garden of every German teacher - bright colored little bags grow on them, signed with the names of all the children in Germany. At first, the bags are small, but they gradually grow to a decent size (70-90 cm) and are filled with sweets. That's when such a miracle bag reaches the right size - the child whose name is on it is time to go to school!
Such a legend was previously told to children, and in Germany the bag of a first-grader was prepared by the godmother of the future student, brought secretly to school and handed over immediately after the child was accepted into the ranks of schoolchildren.
Now the traditions have changed: the school bag, called in German Schultüte (schultute), is prepared by parents. And children are no longer told such a dubious tale - many of them not only choose the bag themselves, but also help in its manufacture. And then they proudly carry their sweet burden to school on their first day of school.
Such a cute custom exists in Germany: a mandatory attribute of the first school day is a sweet bag. That's what it used to be called: Zuckertüte, as the contents consisted of goodies and sweet fruits.
By the way, in other countries it is present - namely in Switzerland and Austria - but only regionally.
Preschoolers in Germany are looking forward to the first day of school - getting ready to receive their sweet gift. And parents characterize this tradition as "the sweet beginning of a serious life."
A bag of a first-grader in Germany is bought ready-made or made independently, sometimes with the help of kindergarten teachers. Everyone decorates their bag because of their interests - heroes of their favorite cartoons, pirates, princesses, cars. School bags from year to year become more complicated and interesting. Moreover, this cone-shaped accessory is considered an attribute of the fashion world, and every autumn exhibitions are held in Germany, where you can see new unusual models.
The most famous manufacturer of paper bags today is Nestler (do not confuse with Nestlé) - it produces 2 million annually!!! cone-shaped models of different colors and sizes.
A first-grader's bag in Germany - a bit of history
The exact date and place of the appearance of the school bag is unknown. But the first mention of this cute little thing dates back to 1810 and they say that in Saxony, children at the first farewell to their home left with a sugar bag.
And 35 years later, a children's book appeared in Dresden with the title: "The Sugar Bag Book - for all children who go to school for the first time." This edition, by the way, was recommended by the universal German teachers' newspaper.
In 1920, a similar book was published: The Tree with Sugar Puffs. The story mentioned at the beginning of this post is from there. The only difference is that in this story, the trees do not grow in the teachers' gardens, but in the school basement and are distributed only to obedient first graders. The story spread throughout Germany and was interpreted in different ways.
After the introduction of compulsory education in 1871, the popularity of sugar bags increased. In 1910, their industrial production begins, and gradually they become part of the ritual of initiating children into the ranks of first graders. An interesting fact is that the first-grader bag first became popular in the north and east of Germany, and only later spread to the south-eastern part of the country. So, in the 30s of the last century in Saxony, Thuringia and other northern regions, a school bag was already common, and at the same time in Munich, only a few had such luxury.
With the coming to power of the nationalists, this custom did not disappear, it continued to exist - you can find photos of school bags with a fascist cross on the net.
The famous German writer Eric Kestner in 1905 described his first day of school and a sugar bag like this:
“My school bag was bright like 100 postcards, heavy like a bucket of coal, and what a smell came from it ... I carried my bag like a fiery torch on outstretched arms, sometimes, groaning, I put it on the road. Then my mom took it. We sweated like furniture movers as we carried this sweet burden. Even a sweet load is still a load…”
And in our family archive I found this photo of my husband's cousin:
What do they put in a bag of a first-grader in Germany?
Based on the original name of the Zuckertüte school bag, it is clear that its main component is Sweets!
Initially, it was like this: parents filled the cone package with pastries, fruits, nuts.
And in the war and post-war years, school bags were packed with old newspapers, straw or even potatoes - and only sweet delicacies lay on top. All this was done so as not to lose such an interesting custom.
Now parents are trying to fill the bag with all sorts of useful and interesting things, and not just sweets. Here's what parents put in this cone-shaped gift:
- everything that can be useful to a novice student: pencil cases, pencils, rubber bands, sharpeners;
- everything that can be useful: an alarm clock, an umbrella, a wallet, a wrist watch;
- any of the clothes;
- toys: plush, cars, lego sets, barbies;
- board games, audio games;
- flashlight, magnifying glass and compass;
- a subscription to the pool or a certificate for the purchase of something;
- a cell phone (whether a first-grader needs one is another question);
- well, if the bag is filled with sweets, then it would be nice to put a toothbrush in it ... an electric one, for example.
And then what? The first bell rang, the school bag was empty, the usual everyday life of a first grader came. And where is the bag? Some mothers keep it all their lives - like the first tooth of their baby, the first cut strand and a bracelet from the hospital.
But such a large thing is not so easy to hide away in a closet or stack on shelves. But it's a shame to get rid of it. He has not bothered us yet and does not interfere, he stands in the corner - he pleases with his appearance. And he reminds us that a first-grader now lives in our house - which means a new life has begun for the whole family. I hope it's interesting and not too difficult...
About life in a German school - by the tags "first grade", "second grade", "third grade"...
Is your child a first grader in a German school? It will be a new (and hopefully positive and interesting) experience not only for him, but also for you.
For example, did you know that:
- to be an excellent student in a German school, one must study for one unit (and this mark is given very reluctantly). To get the final unit, you need not only write excellent written work, but also actively raise your hand in class, and sometimes even help others
Holidays start and end differently in every country. Some German children go to school already on August 5 (Brandenburg), while others from the second week of September
- German school cannot be skipped - a fine can be imposed for this, as well as for being late. It is very difficult to "take away" a child a couple of days earlier on vacation, but a fine for unauthorized delay at a resort or on vacation is not from the realm of fantasy, but a very real fact. As well as checking at airports with the subsequent issuance of fines
- if the child did not come to school without a call from the parents, then his search begins - they call the parents, send the police to the house
- in elementary school, children in some states write with pencils and then with fountain pens or, from the very beginning, only fountain pens (but not ballpoints!) 
An indispensable attribute of the first day at school for a first grader in German-speaking countries - Schultuete(lit. "school bag"). The tradition of giving such a bag to children began at the beginning of the 19th century. in Saxony and Thuringia, where children were told that if a teacher grew up on a magical Schultuete tree in the teacher's garden, then it's time to go to school. Slowly, for about 100 years, this custom spread throughout the German-speaking lands, from east to west, from large cities to small ones.
Schultuete is made by either parents, or parents with children (in the garden or at home), or children with caregivers in the garden. Often kindergartens invite parents to come to the garden in the evening on certain days to make Schultuete together, in such cases it is usually necessary to pay for materials. If you really can’t make it yourself, then most bookstores and children’s stores offer different options for Schultuete, you just have to choose. Another option is Bastelset, ready-to-glue kits.
From the experience of lanterns for St. Martin's Day, I can say that purchased ordinary ones (that is, not very expensive) look worse than home-made ones, except that the creators of the home-made ones had completely crooked hands. Of course, in online stores you can also buy very original (as a result, very expensive) bags that will look like handmade.
As a rule, the children themselves choose the motif and color of the bag - they draw or discuss it.
quick guide, how to make a bag.
1. We take a large sheet of thick colored paper (for example, we buy it in Muller, where you can choose very beautiful large sheets).
2. We tie a thread of the desired length to the pencil (there are from 60 cm). We hold one end at the corner of the paper, draw a quarter circle with a pencil. The bag can be smooth, or it can be six-sided (for this we will divide it into 7 parts - one (it may be smaller) will go for gluing).
3. Next, glue into a bag.
4. We strengthen the sharp end with an additional piece of paper - at the same time it will serve as a decoration (grass for a pony, sea for a dolphin, etc.). For strengthening, special ends are also sold, for example, from wood.
5. We glue a strip 2-3 centimeters wide with glue along the inner upper edge of the bag and glue tissue paper (rectangular piece) to it. Then we tie this paper with a ribbon (when the bag is full).
Or we attach a piece of beautiful fabric with a stapler - soft felt, for example.
6. We decorate the bag at the request of the child. Even toys (cars, barbies, shells, etc.) and Christmas tree illuminations are glued with a glue gun! The name of the child is usually depicted at the top of the bag.
7. Fill and tie.
Each school has its own rules about when to bring Schultuete. Somewhere they take it to school in advance, somewhere they bring it to the service, and then to the classroom. Some parents make a double bottom in a bag, stuffing it with paper. Someone throws playmais or popcorn for weight loss. So, a summary list of what can be put in a bag. Sweets in our time of caring for teeth and proper nutrition are in last place (many children get them every day anyway).
Little geschwisters (brothers or sisters) of conscious age make small bags so that it is not offensive.
1. Beautiful stationery for home or school (if you know its requirements) - if it Like to kid
2. Small alarm clock
3. Wristwatch
4. Children's wallet
5. Lanyard for keys, key ring
6. Lunch box, water bottle
7. Gutshine to visit some park/entertainment, movie tickets
8. Name stickers for school supplies
9. "Book for friends" (Freundschaftsalbum/-buch)
10. For girls - hair ornaments, earrings, bracelets
11. Jump
12. Soap bubbles
13. Box for milk teeth
14. Small photo album
15. A small toy (soft, playmobil, doll) or a handmade "gutshine" for a large toy long desired by a child
16. A book of interesting tasks for first graders.
17. Reflective tapes or other devices, a book / memo on the correct behavior on the road
18. Personalized cup
19. A small board game (for example, in the form of cards) or a puzzle
20. CD, DVD (but various games are NOT recommended - computer, telephone, etc.)
By the way, about mobile phones. All schools are required to turn off mobile phones in class. For violation of this rule, the phone can be taken away and returned only to parents. In some schools, it is forbidden to use the phone during breaks.
