The 2024 Christmas liver sausage season in Aachen is now officially open: Lord Mayor Sibylle Keupen and Rolf Gerrards, Chairman of Aachen's Aixtra butchers, took over the ceremonial cutting of the sausage today (October 21) in the White Hall of the Town Hall.

Unlike conventional liver sausage, Christmas liver sausage is traditionally only available in Aachen butchers' shops in the run-up to Christmas. Its production dates back to the 19th century. In 2016, the European Commission certified Aachener Weihnachtsleberwurst and Öcher Puttes as a geographically protected product. The European Commission's seal of approval protects the valuable meat product from inferior copies and as a regional product. Sibylle Keupen was delighted with the European certificate: "This shows the uniqueness of our sausage specialties and underlines the European orientation of our city and our craft. Today's cutting marks the start of the Christmas season for Aachen and the Aixtra butchers."

The traditional, rich recipe not only includes a dash of cream, but also the addition of various types of nuts, cranberries or winter spices such as cardamom, aniseed and coriander, for example. Honey is also part of some butcher's recipes, which are a well-protected trade secret. Rolf Gerrards sees the cutting of the sausage as an opportunity to put the spotlight on Aachen's craft trades, in particular the butcher's trade: "The cutting of the Christmas liver sausage in the town hall brings the public closer to the importance of the craft in general. The Christmas liver sausage, the pink gold of Aachen, also enjoys great popularity beyond the region, which makes us as Aixtra butchers very proud."

But the focus was not only on cutting the sausage: three kilograms of Aachen's Christmas liver sausage and the same amount of Öcher Puttes from the city's butchers' guilds were donated to social institutions. This year, the Franziska-Schervier-Stube and the Café KonTAKT of the Alexianer-Wohnverbund received the vouchers for these Aachen delicacies.

Rolf Gerrards also revealed that the Aachen Aixtra butchers' association is planning to protect a third delicacy: The Öcher Karlswurst, the famous medieval sausage that has been offered by the Aixtra butchers at the Karlsfest at the end of January for many years.