The banquet has a long tradition: for many years, the Catholic Men’s Welfare Association in Munich has been inviting the homeless and needy to the Hofbräuhaus on Christmas Eve.
Also the Advent calendar of the Süddeutsche Zeitung takes part in the campaign for the people in Munich who have nothing and are even lonelier than usual at Christmas.
After a two-year break due to the pandemic, the doors of the traditional house on the Platzl opened at 5 p.m. on Christmas Eve for around 500 invited guests. “Our Christmas party started with coffee, tea and cookies,” reports one volunteer. And many kind words, because everyone would have been happy to celebrate the festival together again.
The Munich Auxiliary Bishop Rupert Graf zu Stolberg is also traditionally present at the celebration in the Hofbräuhaus. After reading the Christmas Gospel, he turned to the guests, who were able to forget their worries for a few hours on Christmas Eve.
After the two-year break brought about by the corona pandemic, the numerous volunteers received a lot of gratitude. Fewer people were invited this year than in previous years, but the people were filled with joy, reports a helper. “Although we weren’t able to celebrate with the guests in the familiar setting in 2020 and 2021, the club never gave up on the project,” she emphasizes.
Franciscan brother Heinrich Hahn and Miljana Amanovic, disguised as angels, were also waiting for the traditional dinner in the ballroom.
Dumplings and roasts were served, which the guests enjoyed. After dinner there was punch and gingerbread – and, as at every homeless Christmas, a gift for each guest: A backpack with a thermos flask, a power bank and various small things that were met with great joy.
The band ‘The Hollyrock’ provided Christmas and secular music, because singing and dancing are also part of the celebration. And while inside the guests enjoy the Christmas delicacies and the conviviality, outside there are usually several helpers looking after the four-legged friends of the homeless. But this year they didn’t have too much to do – because only one brought his dog.