Silent Night Holy Night? Not really in a pulsating metropolis like Berlin. Yes, of course, many people celebrate with their families, at least if the currently applicable Corona bans do not thwart the plans for a contemplative festival. But the absolute contrast to the contemplative get-togethers with parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and children is also booming on Christmas Eve. Business is booming in the brothels of the capital at Christmas. Buyable love instead of roast goose at home and sex for money instead of singing songs under the Christmas tree. What kind of men are they who end up in the brothel on Christmas Eve?
“To put it simply, it is like this: Nobody wants to be alone at Christmas. And before someone sits at home alone and watches old Kabel-1 films, they prefer to go to the brothel, “says Aurel Johannes Marx. He runs the “Sexy Candyshop” brothel on Kamenzer Damm in Lankwitz in the Steglitz-Zehlendorf district. He opened his shop over the Christmas period like on normal days. At Christmas time there are plates with cookies in the rooms. “After all, we and our customers want a little Christmas spirit too,” says Marx. In general, many customers at Christmas are “more contemplative and are actually more interested in talking and cuddling”. In concrete terms – what kind of men are they? “Divorced fathers who can only see their children on December 26th, notorious singles who don’t go hunting on Christmas Eve, but don’t want to be alone either, or regular customers who also like ‘their’ sex worker on one of these want to see a special day like Christmas, everything is included, ”says Marx.
“Police officers, emergency doctors and waitresses also work”
Besides, says Marx, Christmas is “a Christian festival. In Berlin, however, there are also hundreds of thousands of people from other cultures who have nothing to do with Christmas and don’t really know where to go on Christmas Eve. And some of them also come to us ”. There are also regular guests who only come for Christmas – “but have been doing so for years and with absolute reliability,” says Marx. These are “men who treat themselves to something very special once a year, something they don’t otherwise have. You give yourself presents, so to speak ”.
But for all these men to find what they are looking for, there must of course also be women from the sex industry who will not be with their families on the 24th. Marx: “There are thousands of police officers, tram drivers, emergency doctors, waitresses and many other professions that work at Christmas, why should it be any different in the sex industry?” Whether a woman wants to work or not is “entirely up to her “. In his candyshop there are of course “women with families who don’t work, especially when they have children. Then the singles tend to do a shift. It’s like in any other industry ”. However, women know that many guests are more generous at Christmas. The job at Christmas is sometimes a little different than on normal days. “There are already more guests who” don’t come to us beaming with joy and in a party mood with the prospect of good sex, but are a little sad because they have no one at home. “
“At Christmas there is more cuddling than usual”
The sex workers in the Candyshop would “definitely cuddle, scratch the back and stroke the head more than usual at Christmas”, many would cliché “actually just listen to their customers”. But that “is something that people who fundamentally demonize sex work simply cannot imagine: that a man pays a woman just to be hugged.” He personally, says Marx, does not care whether he has customers are looking for “an understanding cuddle friend” or just want “the classic sex worker for a nice nap”. Marx: “A well-run brothel is ultimately like a good relationship: Everything that happens must feel good and right for everyone involved. Then everyone is happy. Even at Christmas. “