Christmas in September? Sebastian Fitzek presents Bernd Schwarze’s ChristmasWonderJoyBook
Is that allowed? Celebrating Christmas in late summer? – “Why not?” replies Sebastian Fitzek, Germany’s most successful thriller author. And his friend and fellow writer Bernd Schwarze, who is also a full-time pastor at St. Petri in Lübeck, adds: “God comes into the world! That can be celebrated anywhere and at any time. Snow is overrated.”
And so, on Friday, September 19th at 7 p.m., there will be a Christmas celebration in the cultural church of St. Petri in Lübeck – with stories, songs, gingerbread, and punch. Sebastian Fitzek will come to Lübeck to present Bernd Schwarze’s new book ChristmasWonderJoyBook, which will be published a few days earlier by Herder Verlag. Fitzek will not only host Schwarze’s reading of both cheerful and thought-provoking stories, but also share some of his own—rather unsettling—texts for the season. “Christmas goosebumps are part of it,” comments the pastor on his friend’s thriller artistry.
Bernd Schwarze’s ChristmasWonderJoyBook contains fifteen read-aloud stories that he wrote over many years for the popular Christmas sing-alongs of the Lübeck Boys’ Choir. The tales range from the adventures of Mahdiya, a camel of the Three Wise Men, to a Christmas conference of wizards, all the way to the melodious experiences of Alma, an eighth note from an Advent chorale. The book also includes reflective texts about the holiday and some wintry poems.
“I’m happy to come to Lübeck to support Bernd,” says Sebastian Fitzek. “He’s a masterful storyteller.” The two have collaborated from time to time for years. For instance, the thriller author helped the theologian develop the concept for Thy Will Be Done, a SPIEGEL bestseller published in 2021 by Droemer Knaur.
But is it really a good idea to celebrate Christmas in September? “Well, the book is being released in September,” says Bernd Schwarze. “We wouldn’t have held such a reading during the quiet month of November.” But being a little crazy is part of the charm at Lübeck’s cultural church. For example, the church’s main event, the “Petrivision,” regularly takes place at 11 p.m. on Saturdays. The church has also hosted amusing art exhibitions, preacher slams, and science slams. The theologian is always up for humor and intelligent entertainment.
Sebastian Fitzek and Bernd Schwarze invite you to a Christmas celebration at St. Petri on a late summer evening. All participants are waiving their fees, as the proceeds will benefit the church’s cultural and educational programs. “There might even be a surprise in the middle of the event that makes attending even more worthwhile,” says Schwarze, mumbling something unintelligible. Something about a “choir.”