Hello!
I took a walk today and thought how crazy it is that we almost reached the end of December without a single snowflake on the ground. We will not have a white Christmas this year which is sort of strange. We spent time at the Christmas Market with temperatures reaching almost 13 degrees Celsius (55 Fahrenheit). We did not feel like drinking hot mead or Glühwein, instead some cocktails with ice cubes. The weather is just weird this year.
I remember the Christmas traditions in my family which did not change too much in all those years. On Christmas Eve we used to attend the late afternoon service at the town church. After service, we walked back home and there was always a candle at the entrance of the house and dinner was prepared. My father usually stayed at home to set everything up for the “Christkind’s arrival” and the presents 🙂
We used to have dinner at home together with my grandparents and while we ate in the kitchen or living room, we heard a bell ringing outside. This was usually the sign that Christkind brought the gifts and we could look for ours under the Christmas tree. We would tear them open with excitement and compare what everybody else got while hurrying to the next gifts. After everything calmed down we used to sing Christmas songs and sometimes watched a movie when my grandparents left. It was nice and peaceful.
Many years passed and I was not able to celebrate Christmas with my parents. Many things happen; marriage, a move to another city, later country, a baby – just changes. But my family’s tradition comes back to life whenever we are here which makes it so special. And of course, there was snow. Lots of snow – which made Christmas even better. As kids we used to go sledding in the park, built huge snowman or went ice skating. And of course waking up to a snowy Christmas morning is priceless. These days, when or more ‘if’ it is cold outside, we are wrapped in blankets at the fireplace in the living room drinking Glühwein and the world is okay. My son is able to spend so much time with all his Oma’s and Opa’s and I love to see how happy and content he is. The time in the States being alone with him was okay and we made the best out of the situation but I realized how important it is to have family close by. Being back at my parents place for Christmas with my husband and son makes me feel like a child again and there is this heartwarming feeling of happiness and calmness that is so great to experience. My family, these traditions, just minus snow.
Thank you for reading my blog.
