Weihnachten
Markt und Straßen stehen verlassen,
still erleuchtet jedes Haus,
sinnend geh ich durch die Gassen,
alles sieht so festlich aus.
An den Fenstern haben Frauen
buntes Spielzeug fromm geschmückt,
tausend Kindlein stehen und schauen,
sind so wunderstill beglückt.
Und ich wandre aus den Mauern
bis hinaus ins freie Feld,
hehres Glänzen, heil'ges Schauern,
wie so weit und still die Welt!
Sterne hoch die Kreise schlingen,
aus des Schnees Einsamkeit
steigt's wie wunderbares Singen.
O du gnadenreiche Zeit!
Joseph von Eichendorff
This evening I will recite this poem (memorized in front of my host grandparents' Christmas tree) before we open up any presents. For my American readers, the poem is very lovely and talks about how pretty everything looks in the Christmas time, all covered in snow. Yeah right, thanks global warming! As far as the weather goes, it could actually be the middle of spring right now. Yesterday I consider putting shaving my legs and putting on shorts. Okay that's a lie, but the fact that it's so warm out is very strange. I am, nonetheless, very excited to experience Heiligabend (Christmas Eve) with Sabine, Bennet, Opa Jan and Oma Trineke tonight. Christmas Eve in Germany is, as far as I can tell, extremely traditional. Santa Claus (der Weinachtsman) will come this evening, instead of tomorrow morning, while we are eating dinner and we will not be allowed to enter the living room to see the tree until around 8 pm. Then we will open all presents from the Weihnachtsman and from all other people one by one. Good thing we only have one kid with us, I can't imagine what kind of patience other children have to use to wait all the way until 8 and then open everything one present at a time. Normally, the Christmas tree is put up on the 23rd of December (sometimes it sits outside sad and alone beforehand) but Sabine and Bennet thankfully don't observe this tradition; we put our tree up on 2. Advent. Here is a picture of our lovely tree, very different from our tree in the states but I like the scraggly candle-lit look as well. Our candles are not real, but my host mom says that when they used to be real, people kept a water bucket behind the tree just in case...
Christmas is, for me at least, not so terribly different because of my practically German mother, so it is more like taken up a notch in German-ness. Eli and I have always had an Advent's calendars, but here they are huge! You can buy one with Lego toys for all 24 days, with perfume and makeup, and of course with delicious chocolate. Mine was a cardboard Christmas tree with chocolate from Rittersport on the branches, but out in the open unlike most. My host mom calls it an "adult Adventskalender" because one must exhibit a good amount of self-control. Bennet gets a small gift from his fairy, Penny, in a little felt house my host mom designed and constructed. Voll süß! The decorations for Christmas here are not so bold and bright in comparison to in the states; they are all very old school and exclusively with white lights and green or red accents. I personally love this and find it so pretty to bike through the city center at night or in the morning when everything is so traditionally lit.
Above all, Christmas in Germany is a family holiday. Normally people stay at home on the 24th with just their immediate family to enjoy a delicious dinner after going to church and singing lots of Christmas songs. Some eat goose, others bratwurst and potato salad, and for us Raclette, which is traditionally eaten on New Year's Eve and consists of little pans on a double- tiered grill so that everyone can grill up what they would like and eat it on some toast. We are making an exception and driving up to my host grandparent's house on the North Sea because we thought it would be nice to have a couple more people to celebrate with. Then tomorrow Sabine's 3 siblings, their significant others, and children will drive up and we will celebrate the 25th all together, which is also very common in Germany. The 26th is also still a family celebration day, which I will spend at my boyfriend's house with his extended family and later we will head out with a group to the disco in Tange.
It is a little strange not having my parents and brother to celebrate with this year, but I will see them very soon in Amsterdam. I am so happy to have such a wonderful second family with Sabine and Bennet and this will surely be a holiday season to remember. I think I have gotten my favorite present already; that is, all the wunderbare new people I have become so close with and the opportunity to branch out and have a new experience for Christmas. Besides, I will get to annoy my parents enough through Facetime tonight and tomorrow, pretty sure they are relieved not to have their barely-capable-of-speaking-English daughter at home. Na ja, I will hopefully update my blog regarding Silvester (New Year's Eve) as well, since it is also a super big party holiday here. Feel free to share any Christmas traditions in the comments and above all, I wish you all a fabulous and family-filled Christmas-time, no matter where you are in the world or how you celebrate.
Frohe Weihnachten und einen guten Rutsch in 2016! Hab euch lieb:)
Hannah
May you all be as warm and snuggled in as our cat Balou, but not quite as grumpy:)
