Traditional figures made in Germany's Christmas village

(16 Dec 2008)
Seiffen, Ore Mountain December 13 2008
1. Wideshot of Seiffen
2. Street scene of Seiffen
3. People looking at windows of shops
4. Medium shot pyramids turning
5. Close up turning figures in pyramid
6. Close up nutcrackers
7. Interior medium shot of store
8. Close up arch of lights
9. Medium shot of pyramids in case
10 SOUNDBITE ( German) , Christine Huebner from Bavaria
"It is unique here. You won't find something like that anywhere else, like the pyramids and the figures. We already bought things and if one doesn't have something already one has to buy something here."
11. Medium shot arches of lights
12. Medium shot nutcrackers
13. SOUNDBITE ( German), Walter and Edeltraut Thiele from Hamburg
"It is all hand made here, and one has to have new ideas for new products every year and therefore one has to admire the people here for their creativity". ( Edeltraut) "And if someone is creative like me, I do create teddies myself , that one knows how much love is in the products."
14. Medium shot of wooden trees
15. Close up woman carving tree
16. Close up men watching
17. Close up carving tree
18. Pan up of ring turning
19. Close up ring turning
20. Shoppers watching
21. Medium shot worker slicing
22. SOUNDBITE ( German), Sven Reichel, Seiffener Volkskunst eg.
" With this special method here, the ring turning, we create for example animals in two steps. First we carve the legs of the animals and then we cut the ring. In a second step we carve the rest of the animal body. We can create all sorts of animals, farm animals such as dogs ,cats, goats, cows, sheep."
23. Pan animals in rings
24. Medium shot worker putting together giant nutcracker
25. Closer shot worker putting together giant nutcracker
26. Medium shot Sriezelkinder (Christmas figures)
27. Cutaway people watching
28. Medium shot woman putting together smoking men
29. Close up pan smoking men
30. Pan new collection of smoking men
31. SOUNDBITE ( German), Sven Reichelt, Seiffener Volkskunst eg
"We sell our products first of all to German speaking regions. There, our way of celebrating Christmas is well known. Then there are countries like the United States - we do export our products as well. We export to Japan, France and Netherlands, we even sell our products to Russia."
32. Pan new collection of wooden figures
33. Pan nutcracker
LEADIN
The village of Seiffen, outside Dresden, is the official "Christmas village" of Germany.
It's the place to go to buy traditional wooden toys and festive ornaments - and it has a history going back hundreds of years.
STORYLINE
Snow and ice cover Seiffen, providing a frosty white backdrop to the traditional Christmas trade of the village.
Tourists , and shoppers from all around Germany, come here to buy decorations such as these wooden candle pyramids, angels, nutcrackers, candlesticks and toys.
During the Christmas period, candles softly illuminate the streets of Seiffen, and the wooden handicrafts are sold in workshops.
Christine Huebner from Bavaria says it's unique here.
Seiffen is located to the south of Dresden, in the Erzgebirge Mountain area, near the Czech Republic border.
The seasonal trade is the most important source of income for the village.
Walter and Edeltraut Thiele from Hamburg say it's clear to see how much love and care people put into their products.
This area was once a mining centre, but residents turned to wood carving when the tin ore ran out.
Seiffen soon became noted for its toys and Christmas crafts.
Through the generations, Seiffen wood crafters became masters of their art.

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