1. Nikolaus
2. Advent Sundays
3. Stollen
4. Weihnachtsmarkt
5. Christmas carols
6. Christmas trees that catch fire
7. Männerkartoffelsalat
8. Midnight mass
9. Three-day Christmas
10. Adventskalender
(Note how half of this is in German? We speak Denglish at home and are dooming our child to speak neither language properly.)
Just in case you're curious I'll expand on DH's bullet point list:
1. It must have been one year on the fifth of December that I learned how to polish shoes, in anticipation of Nikolaus, the 4th-century patron saint of children and secret gift-giver who nowadays checks children's boots on the night from the 5th to the 6th and, if they are shiny, leaves nuts, fruit, and some candy, perhaps even a book. I still shine my boots on the 5th, and Nikolaus has not ceased to surprise me with small gifts.
2. Ah, Advent Sundays! Hear the Christmas music, see the candles on the Christmas Pyramid and Advent wreath, smell baked apples, fried cinnamon bread and Stollen? Pass me the tea, would you, please? Advent Sundays are sacred. Bring a book, get comfortable, and stay for a while.
3. No Advent Sunday without Stollen!
4. When it's super cold and snowing, nothing is better than wrapping your begloved fingers around a mug of mulled wine at a Christmas market. The lights, the food, the big-eyed children... it's really quite something.
5. I'm a Christmas song addict, although I listen to (and sing) only classical/traditional Christmas music. My mom wouldn't let us listen to Silent Night/Holy Night until Christmas eve, when she played it for the first time that year at five o'clock, thus inviting us to enter the living room and see the Christmas tree (which in my family isn't put up and decorated until the morning of the 24th).
6. What DH means is candles on the tree. I don't understand why he thinks there is something wrong with that.
7. Men's potato salad? Obviously that's one of his favorite traditions. Potato salad and wieners is a traditional Christmas eve dish, and I make two kinds of potato salad: one with oil and vinegar (yummy!), one with bacon and a gallon of mayonnaise (yuck). The latter is the "men's version." DH loves it.
8. Because of the music!
9. In Germany we start celebrating on the afternoon of the 24th; the 25th and 26th are official holidays. There's also the 27th--the unofficial but widely practiced holiday for children of divorced parents, who have twice as many family visits to check off.
10. Behind every door of the the 24-day Advent Calendar is a piece of chololate--what's not to love?
Love these lists. My stepdad's mom is from Chile and his dad from the U.S., so they grew up speaking Spanglish and it's amazing to hear his family carry on a conversation -- flowing back and forth with such ease.
ReplyDeleteThis is a fun holiday season for you & your wonderful family!!