Around the Advent season and Christmas, stories, thoughts, and poems are woven together in the Bavarian Christmas Book. In relation to the Holy Festival, Bavaria draws from a rich tradition more than any other federal state: Here, many still celebrate St. Barbara's Day, are familiar with Rau- and Klöpfelnächte, and bake peppernuts and Kletzenbrot according to old recipes. Children eagerly await the gift-bringing St. Nicholas, and traditions such as Krampus runs, the Star Singers, nativity plays, and the Christkindlschiessen are essential before finally heading to the Christmas Eve service. Numerous well-known authors, including Lena Christ, Josef Fendl, Ludwig Ganghofer, Günter Goepfert, Jutta Makowsky, Franz Ringseis, Walter Rupp, Herbert Schneider, Helmut Seitz, Ludwig Thoma, and Kurt Wilhelm, recount regional Christmas customs in both city and countryside.