not made by the parents, the school cones can be bought from shops ready-made or they are made by the children themselves in the kindergarten. Christiane Cantauw, a German folklore expert at the Volkskundliche Kommission für Westfalen (Folkloristic Commission of Westphalia, based in the city of Münster), has researched the Schultüte tradition. In a 2016 interview with the broadcaster Deutsche Welle she explained how important the symbolism of the Schultüte tradition is for school beginners and their families, regardless of their financial means: Shapes After the division of Germany, hexagonal school cones with a length of 85 cm were established in East Germany, while the traditional round cones (usually 70 cm long) were preferred in the West. Commercial production The largest manufacturer of school cones in Germany is Nestler Feinkartonagen GmbH in Ehrenfriedersdorf. It produces more than two million school cones per year. References External links Description of school supplies for the first day of school in Germany at The New York Times Why Germans celebrate school with a cardboard cone in the BBC news site. Bags German traditions