School cone - a German tradition

A school cone is a container, usually made of cardboard, in the form of a cone, which school beginners receive when they start school.

School cones filled with sweets are supposed to sweeten the start of school.
© Photo by Anncapictures on Pixabay
04.07.2022

The custom of giving and giving school cones to school beginners on starting school has been cultivated in Germany since the 19th century and has since spread to Austria. The earliest reference to date comes from the autobiography of the pastor's son Karl Gottlieb Bretschneider, who started school in 1781 or 1782 and received a school cone.

School cones can first be traced to places in central Germany. Berlin was the first large city outside the original regions where school cones became common. Only gradually did the custom catch on in the south and west. In the beginning, it was the godparents who presented the cone. Nowadays, it is often the parents who give their children the school cone, which they rarely make themselves, on the way to school.

School cones are usually filled with sweets and small gifts such as crayons or other school supplies. The name "sugar cone", which is common in some areas, comes from filling the cone with sweets.
If they are not made by parents, school cones are either bought ready-made or made by the children themselves in kindergarten.