Christmas Eve

Today is Christmas morning. Merry Christmas. Herr Grünberg and I are up early. We are still a little off with the time change. The house is quiet and it is dark outside. The children are asleep after an eventful day.

In Germany, Christmas Eve is a big celebration. We spent the morning wrapping gifts and getting ready. Herr Grünberg went to the grocery store before 8:00am to buy milk and a few other items we will need during the holidays. The stores were busy with long lines. Everyone here knows that the stores would be closed in the afternoon and also the 25^th and 26^th. We needed to buy enough milk to last until stores open again on Thursday.

At 3:35pm, we walked to the church for the 4:00pm Christmas Eve service. ( It is only about 3 blocks.) The Christmas Eve service is a tradition for many German families. The 3:00 service was letting out as we arrived and we could hear the church bells ringing. A crowd had already gathered outside and when the doors opened, we were still able to find a pew, but the church filled up quickly. Traditional hymns were sung and local teens presented a modern version of the Christmas story. The little church, built in the 1700s, was beautiful with the tree and many candles.

Back at home, the adults prepared for the gift exchange while the children were forbidden to enter the game room (more about this room in future blog.) They had to wait. And wait. And wait. We hung lights, arranged candles and decorations and put the candles on the Christmas tree. Yes. Germans put real candles on their Christmas trees. Finally, the children were allowed to enter. Gifts were exchanged and then there was a knock on the door. The “Weihnachtsmann” (Christmas man) was at the door with his sack of presents. He came in, greeted the children and asked if were prepared to recite a poem. The three German Children each recited a beautiful holiday poem while we watched in awe. He asked our children if they too could recite something and we just looked at one another. Unfortunately, I only vaguely knew of this tradition and hadn’t prepared our children. Luckily, he told the children it was OK and he thought he still had something in his sack for them. He passed out his gifts, waved goodbye and headed to the next house.

The children were allowed to play with their toys and cousins for a while and then it was time to eat. We had a nice dinner. Then the adults spent the rest of the evening visiting, while the children played until past bedtime.

Today we will have a roasted goose dinner with Herr Grünberg’s parents and his sister and her family. In the afternoon, cousins will come for “Kaffee."

We wish you all a blessed Christmas.