Christmas Adventures

Greetings and Merry Christmas all!

Much has happened in the two weeks since I last wrote. First of all, three of us got a nasty stomach virus that pretty much wiped us out for a week or so - just before we were to leave on our Black Forest vacation. But we managed to get our appetites back in order to enjoy some of the Christmas goodies and events here in Meunster. I found it very interesting to compare how they celebrate the holiday here and how we find it in the US.

First of all, like home, the shopping is pretty frantic. However, The Christmas markets here are something to see - each good-sized town has one. Dotted throughout the old city here, there were rows of stalls selling everything from new gift ideas (artsy jewelry, ornaments, nutcrackers, wooden nick-nacks, etc.) to yummy snacks and drinks (fried brie cheese, lots of wurst, hot sandwiches, and especially - Gluhwein! Hot, very sweet, wine). They opened in the week before Dec. 1, and ran all the way to Christmas. The old city was beautifully and tastefully decorated - not tacky at all - with hanging wreathes of greenery and candles. There were even street singers and bands on the weekends.

What was different for me was the lack of anticipation. In the stores, there is little Christmas music played. In the US, by the time the 25th roles around, I am usually pretty tired of all the little ditties played everywhere. Here, I wish I could hear more. And, there are no special church 'shows' - just a Christmas eve service, usually at 5 or 6 o'clock. I have been singing with a small choir at our church, and when we met during the first week of December, it was to discuss what we might sing at Easter, and there was NO music for the Christmas season at all. We sang Christmas carols as a congregation, but the choir did not sing at all. Given all the preparation that goes into the Christmas choir music at every church in the US, this was a big surpise for me. Although there are advent calendars everywhere, few are religious in nature. I have one from our grocery store with coupons for each day. (A nice idea, that one.) Rowyn has one from her 'W.I.T.C.H.' magazine with pictures of present behind each window. Now, it may be that we are not really connected into German society sufficiently, that we notice this lack of seasonal spirit. However, is it that Christmas should be a personal experience, not so much a corporate one?

In any case, we missed home. We missed our family especially, and our friends, and our church! So. On December 21, we did our Christmas gifts as a family - and left the next day for a week in the Black Forest.