Every year, you could say that when looking at the almost 40 photos that can be seen in the Dreieich Museum in Hayn Castle in Dreieich's Dreieichenhain district.

The exhibition is called "Christmas at Wagners - A Family Album 1900–1945".

At Christmas time, Richard and Anna Wagner gathered at the decorated Christmas tree and took photos with the self-timer - a ritual that is still practiced in many families today.

But the old black-and-white photos by the Wagner family are something special: the couple stuck to this tradition for four and a half decades, thereby documenting German history at the same time.

Home-baked stollen, gingerbread, apples and wine were part of the Christmas festivities.

They gave each other fabrics, scented water, gloves and suspenders.

The landlord in a suit and tie smoked a cigar or a pipe;

his wife had made herself smart too.

If you look closely, you will discover a map of Europe in the background of the photo from 1915, on which small flags mark where the troops are at the moment during the First World War.

The Wagnerians are fine;

A plate of sausages can be seen on the gift table.

One of the first amateur photographers

In 1917 there was a shortage of coal, the Wagners line up in thick coats in front of the Christmas tree. The gifts include a cooking box that allows you to finish cooking pots with heated food in an energy-saving manner. In 1926 the household was expanded to include an electric iron, and in 1927 a modern vacuum cleaner. In 1937 a people's receiver was added. In 1940 the Wagners had to wear winter coats again for the festival.

Several years ago, the photos came into the possession of the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf Museum in Berlin, which began researching the couple.

Not much is known about the Wagners: Richard Wagner, who was born in Berlin, was an official of the Deutsche Reichsbahn;

his wife came from Erfurt.

The first photos were taken in her apartment in Essen before they moved to Berlin.

Wagner was one of the first amateur photographers in Germany;

he took many pictures with a stereo camera.

The recordings were sent to friends as greeting cards.

Traveling exhibition with Wagner's photos

Anna Wagner died of malnutrition shortly after the end of the war in 1945.

Richard Wagner photographed his 71-year-old wife for the last time two months earlier.

He was 77 years old and died shortly before Christmas five years later.

The Museum Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf put together a traveling exhibition from the photos, which has already been seen in many cities.

The Dreieich Museum would have liked to present them last year.

But the pandemic forced museum director Corinna Molitor to send the exhibits back to Berlin.

This year, visitors can take a look at the Wagner family album until January 16.

Dreieich-Museum, Fahrgasse 52 in Dreieichenhain, www.dreieich-museum.de.