Frohe Weihnachten!

Translation: Merry Christmas!

Petra’s parents, Artur and Waltroud, were wonderful hosts and generously made us welcome in their gracious home as part of their family. We all feel so grateful to the Schweitzers for sharing the holidays with us.

I have recently been appreciating the importance of maintaining traditions and I was pleased with the way we were able to integrate some of the German traditions with our own customs.

The kids and I made this wreath with the home ed group in Derby. Petra’s parents used it as part of the advent celebration. We lit all four of the candles on the fourth Sunday and sang songs to the light of the flickering flames.

The tree was very beautiful: spacious branches provided plenty of space to show off the decorations and candles.

We ate an amazing dinner called raclette on Christmas eve. There was a big pot of potatoes and lots and lots of toppings. The toppings were put into little pans that went under the grill in the middle of the table. There is a particular type of cheese that is traditionally melted to drizzle onto the potato. I’m not sure if the cheese gave it’s name to the meal or vice versa, but it was known colloquially in English as “the stinky cheese”.

There was a nice selection of cheese, vegetables, meats and even fruits. In the picture below, River is loading up a tray with little orange sections.

The kids all loved Uncle Stefan. They got him to play hide and seek and generally chased him all over the house. I imagine it helped that his English was very good (he lived in England for a bit), but I think there must be something about uncleness that crosses cultural boundaries.

The candles on the tree were magical. We sang by candlelight as many verses of as many carols as we could manage. Eventually, after we all sang “Silent Night” in English, German, and even phonetic German and the kids finished all the verses of “Children Go Where I Send Thee”, they got to open their presents.

Presents are opened on Christmas eve in Germany. The kids all loved their pajamas! Thanks, Gail!

Normally, Saint Nicholas comes to Germany on December 6, but Santa knew we hadn’t been there for St. Nicholas day and made a special trip to Albstadt. We forgot to bring the kids wonderful handmade stockings, but we were able improvise with some long socks that Molly had packed in her suitcase.

Everyone enjoyed the presents Santa left in their stockings. I should mention that Sage is holding a pretzel along with her candy cane. Santa must have stopped at a bakery on the way, knowing that the Germans make the best pretzels in the world. These ones were shaped like little animals. There was some discussion about whether they were mice or cats, but in the end it didn’t really matter. They were amazing! Especially with a little pat of butter stuck inside!