Stollen, Gluehwein, Raeuchermaennchen—the essentials of the German Festive Season! It’s been four years since I was last home to celebrate the Holiday Season with my family. And although I manage to get my hands on all of the above even in Manila, it’s still not the same. Simply because there is more to the Holiday Season than tastes and smells.
It is spending time with family and friends, baking cookies, wrapping gifts, and strolling over the town’s x-mas markets to find that good old Gluehwein booth again. I did all of the above and loved it, despite the lack of snow and the mild temperatures in Chemnitz.
Christmas Eve was special for various reasons. For one, we celebrated a day early since Glenn and I had a plane ticket for the US on the 24th. Second, Glenn was there for the first time, experiencing my family’s traditions. Third, this time we were on the broadcasting side of the Skype-chat, sharing our Santa Claus visit with Glenn’s family in the US.
After our traditional potato salad and sausage dinner (the vegetarian seems to miss out on Saxon food traditions…) Santa Claus made his appearance with three loud knocks on the door. Selina (5) was all excited and ready to recite her songs and poems in order to get her gifts. She's got the routine down! Samira (2), on the other hand, just cried and hid! Coming to think of it, Santa Claus is a rather creepy figure…
Once Santa had left Selina and Samira turned into Santa’s helpers and started distributing all the gifts piled up under the (fake) tree. For the next hours, we were busy unwrapping, laughing, thanking, hugging, and gathering our loot. A nice gift indeed, to spend these hours with my family!
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