You only see what you know (Goethe)
Halle’s early history relates to the harvesting of salt. The names of the city Halle and the river Saale originate from old expressions related to salt. An appropriate souvenir from Halle (Saale) could be a portion of salt produced with technologies of the 19th century in the Hallors and Saline Museum (Halloren- und Salinenmuseum).
A typical souvenir of Mariazell is a snow globe featuring a miniature of the basilica. More than 100 years ago, Erwin Perzy developed a method to produce such small presents.
I joined a Christmas tree decorating workshop at the Farbglashütte Lauscha – ELIAS Glashütte. At this glassworks in Lauscha, I learned about a US tradition of hiding a green Christmas pickle in the tree. This tradition is pretty unknown in Germany. Instead, the glassworks sell numerous pickles to the States.