Brenda over at Close To My Heart posted a lovely blog post recollecting her Christmas memories and encouraged others to do the same. For the moment, I’m sitting down here by myself so I have a chance to think back………… way back it seems………. to the days when I was a child at Christmas.
Many of you know that I grew up in Germany and didn’t come to Canada until I was almost finished highschool. So my memories go back to how we celebrated Christmas back home. I tried to look up some web sites that explain our German traditions and was going to link them here but I figured, in the end, I might just tell you what we did when I was a young girl.
Here are some of the “big” moments that I love to look back on – some traditions I have continued and others I have left “back home”.
St. Nikolaus: On December 6th, we celebrated St. Nikolaus day and I still remember how the night before I would put one of my boots outside for St. Nikolaus to come and fill my boots with goodies. The goodies mainly were things like mandarin oranges, nuts, chocolates and other such goodies. This really something that I haven’t kept up with my family – no more filled boots the morning of December 6th.
Throughout December we always had an advent calendar and daily, we would open the little door that was the door for that day. Although there are many variations and I see them more and more around here now as well, we always just had the basic paper calendar with the little chocolate in behind. Today, my kids have an advent calendar. Usually the paper kind but I also sewed them one that has little pockets with a goodie stuffed in the pocket for each day.
We also celebrated the season of Advent which is all about preparing for the real event that Christmas is all about and that is the birth of Jesus. We had an advent wreath in our home with 4 candles and as a family, every Sunday night, we would sit together, sing some songs and then eat some cookies. I remember often playing my recorder or when I got older the piano. I tried to keep up this tradition but I haven’t been highly successful at it. This year, we don’t have an advent wreath in our home. I was so very busy and when we have had an advent wreath, I found it difficult to engage everyone in the family to sit around the lit candle and reflect on it all. Of course, in church, we still follow the tradition and every week in advent a candle on the advent wreath is lit there. I guess it’s a fair compromise to at least see the advent wreath at church every Sunday.
What I think I miss the most is the Christkindlmarkt (Christmas Market). They are usually outdoor markets and the big thing I remember is going to see all the lights and decorations and enjoy looking at all the booths while enjoying hot chocolate or Glühwein (would probably translate best to mulled wine).
In Germany, the “big night” is Christmas Eve. Rather than having Santa Claus travel around the world on Christmas Eve night, we had a christ child figre come to bring us the gifts. That was the Christkindl and as a young girl, I would have to stay in my room for some time and then I would hear a little bell and that would mean I could come to the living room and see what gifts the Christkindl had brought. I used to be involved in the music/choir at our church from a very young age so most of the time, we sang at the earlier children’s mass but the traditional time to go to mass was midnight mass and as I got older, I always went to midnight mass – a most special and magical night in the year of the church. There are traditional foods for Christmas Eve and they vary. I can’t say we had a “standard” meal that we had every year. It varied. I never had turkey until we moved to Canada. Often we would have roasted duck or goose on Christmas Eve.
Christmas Day & Boxing Day were focused on family. Both days were holidays and we would gather with other family like aunts and uncles and cousins. I don’t know what it’s like today but there was nothing like Boxing Day sales – all the stores would be closed on both days to allow everyone to spend time with families and friends.
Now, living in Canada and married to a Canadian, we kind of blend the traditions so that I can maintain a bit of my “past traditions”. We go to my Mom and Dad’s house on Christmas Eve and celebrate with them in the “old fashion” then. Then we continue on and Santa comes to our house over night and brings gifts and fills the stockings. Right now, we don’t go midnight mass but that’s just because of the kids. On Christmas morning, my kids get to open one gift (that we pick for them) and then we got to church early (8:30 am) and when we come home, we open the rest of the gifts and have a lovely breakfast as a family. Then I start cooking the Christmas turkey and all the family starts coming in at different times of the day and everyone stays for dinner.
In Germany we also used to celebrate the 3 Kings/Wise Men coming to find the new born baby. “Back Home” I was involved in a group and we would go from house to house (homes from our church community who invited us to come) and we would be dressed up as Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar. We would sing songs and with chalk would write C+M+B over the home’s front door with a cross and the year. C+M+B stands for Christus Mansionem Bendicat which stands for Christ bless this home. That day was January 6th, called “Dreikönigstag” – 3 Kings Day – which marked the end of the Christmas season. (I don’t think I explained this well but I really had to dig deep to remember).
Today, I delivered my only hand knitted gift and it was this hat, made from some lovely handspun that I spun from Falkland Fibre hand dyed by the lovely Ginny of Fat Cat Knits.
And every year, with my own little family, we make our own traditions and memories. Today, I went to the yarn store and I like that I bought yarn for a “holiday project”. I’m in the middle of casting on. I think going to the LYS for a holiday project might have to become my new holiday tradition. What do you think – isn’t that a nice idea for a new tradition?
Merry Christmas to All!!! See you in a few days.
Merry Christmas!!!
