Hamburg  - Celebrating Christmas with family remains very important to young people even in times when attending the traditional Christmas Eve religious service has lost its meaning for many people. Some don't even know what the holiday is all about.

"In a mobile world the family is an anchor," said Sabine Koppe of a Hamburg-based organization that follows trends in an interview with Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa. That's why holidays such as Christmas carry a lot of weight.

While many families used to celebrate Christmas Eve in a similar manner, the holiday has become a very individual affair.

"Almost every family creates its own traditions," said Koppe. They consistently combine new influences on holiday traditions, allowing for more experimentation. "We live in a globalized world in which new ideas are brought home from a trip to a foreign country," added Koppe.

A typical example of the cultural mixture is a holiday meal that includes roasted turkey, which has crossed over from the US and now is found on some German Christmas holiday menus.

Another is Secret Santa or Christmas drawing in which everyone draws a name and brings that person a gift without identifying themselves as the giver, a typically Scandinavian tradition.

There is even something for people who consider Christmas a load of sentimental rubbish. There are modern Christmas markets in some cities in Germany that offer offbeat items for people who reject the holiday and tend to go for diverse or even sarcastic ideas. (dpa)