Mettenschicht

It is the name given to the last shift worked before Christmas,[1] which ends early with a celebration and meal.

Mettenschicht is the main Christmas celebration among miners in the Protestant Ore Mountains; in Catholic mining areas of Germany, St Barbara's Day is more important.

Then he would give a sort of sermon in the Huthaus, the administrative building, which was decorated for the occasion.

The meal usually consisted of bratwurst with mashed potatoes and sauerkraut as well as herbed schnapps and a cigar (gaahlem Gelecht).

They vary from end-of-year celebrations focusing on strict historical authenticity, often held in the mine itself, attended by sponsors, friends, and in many cases honorary officials of the mine, through incentive events for which tickets are sold, to mining folk events put on in the city hall for bus tours.