Christmas Eve - Merry Christmas!!!!

Today it's Christmas Eve. And because it's a very reflective time we all should sit down and start thinking.
Thinking of how we could make the world a brighter and happy place for everyone. We all CAN do something. We just need to try. Reach a hand to each other.

A great Story for Christmas - my all time favourite - is "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens.
That's why I want to share this wonderful and peaceful story with you.
You can read the beginning if you click here. I posted part one and two the last two Sundays. And finally the end:




A Christmas Carol - The End

Slowly and silently the ghost came nearer. It was very tall and wore a deep black piece of clothing, which covered its whole body and left nothing of it visible but one outstretched hand.

“Are you the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come?” asked Scrooge, “I fear you more than any other spirit.”

The ghost did not say a word, and Scrooge was really scared. They wandered through the city and Scrooge heard some men talking about a person who had died. Scrooge knew the men and wanted to find out, whom they were talking about. But the spirit moved on.

They next stopped in an area where thieves and liars lived. They had stolen things with them and made fun of the person who once owned those things.

“Ha, ha!” laughed a woman, “He frightened everybody away from him when he was alive, to profit us when he was dead! Ha, ha, ha!”

After that, the ghost led Scrooge through streets that were familiar to him; and as they went along, Scrooge looked here and there to find himself, but nowhere was he to be seen. They entered poor Bob Cratchit’s house and found the mother and the children by the fire. Quiet. Very quiet. The noisy little Cratchits were as still as statues. When Bob Cratchit came in, the children hurried to greet him. Then the two young Cratchits got upon his knees and laid their little cheeks against his face as if to say, “Don’t mind it, father. Don’t be sad.”

“You went there today?” said his wife.

“Yes, my dear,” returned Bob. “I wish you could have gone. It would have done you good to see how green the place is. But you’ll see it often. I promised him that we would walk there every Sunday. My little, little child.” cried Bob. “My little child.”

He broke down in tears. He couldn’t help it. If he could have helped it, he and his child would have been farther apart perhaps than they were.

The ghost moved on and took Scrooge to a churchyard. The spirit stood among the graves and pointed down to one. Scrooge slowly went towards it and following the ghost’s finger read upon the stone of the grave his own name, Ebenezer Scrooge.

“Spirit!” Scrooge cried, “hear me. I am not the man I was! I will not be the man I must have been so far! Why show me this if I am past all hope? Good Spirit, I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the past, the present, and the future. The spirits of all three shall be within me. I will not ignore the lessons that they teach. Oh, tell me that I may change my fate!”

Full of fear, Scrooge caught the spirit’s hand. But the spirit suddenly changed – it shrunk and faded and finally turned into a bedpost.

Yes! And the bedpost was his own. The bed was his own, the room was his own. Best and happiest of all, the time before him was his own, and he could make the best of it.

“I will live in the past, the present, and the future.” Scrooge repeated, as he got out of bed. “I don’t know what to do! I am as happy as an angel! I don’t know what day of the month it is. I don’t know how long I’ve been among the spirits. Hallo! Hallo there!”

He ran to the window, opened it, and put out his head.

“What’s today?” cried Scrooge, calling downward to a boy in Sunday clothes.

“Today?” replied the boy. “Why, Christmas Day!”

“It’s Christmas Day!” said Scrooge to himself. “I haven’t missed it! The spirits have done it all in one night. Hallo, my fine fellow! Do you know the poulterer’s at the corner? And do you know whether they’ve sold the big turkey that was hanging up there?”

“What, the one as big as me?” returned the boy. “It’s still hanging there now.”

“Is it!” said Scrooge. “Go and buy it! I am in earnest. Go and buy it and come back with the man that I may give them the direction where to take it. I’ll give you a shilling for it. Come back with the man in less than five minutes and I’ll give you half-a-crown!”

The boy was off like a shot.

“I’ll send it to Bob Cratchit,” whispered Scrooge cheerfully. “It’s twice the size of Tiny Tim.”.

He dressed himself all in his best, and at last got out into the streets. He had not gone far, when he came towards the two gentlemen, who had walked into his office the day before.

“My dear Sir,” said Scrooge, “How do you do? I fear I wasn’t pleasant to you yesterday. Allow me to ask your pardon. And will you have the goodness to …”, here Scrooge whispered in his ear.

“Lord bless me!” cried the gentleman, “My dear Mr Scrooge, are you serious? I don’t know what to say to such generosity.”

Scrooge then went to church, and walked through the streets, and watched the people. He had never dreamed that anything could give him so much happiness. In the afternoon he went to his nephew’s house.

“Fred,” said Scrooge, It’s your uncle Scrooge. I have come to dinner. Will you let me in, Fred?”

Of course, Fred let him in; it was a very hearty welcome and they all had a wonderful party.

But Scrooge was early at the office next morning. Oh, he was early there. If he could only catch Bob Cratchit coming late. And he did it; yes, he did. Bob was full eighteen minutes and a half behind his time. Scrooge sat with his door wide open, that he might see him come in.

“Hallo!” growled Scrooge, in his usual way. “What do you mean by coming here at this time of day? I am not going to stand this sort of thing any longer. And therefore,” he continued, jumping from his stool, “and therefore I am about to raise your salary. A merry Christmas, Bob.”

Bob Cratchit was very surprised, and so were many people who found Scrooge so changed. Scrooge became a better person. To Tiny Tim, who did not die, he was a second father. Scrooge became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city or town in the good old world.

It was always said of Scrooge, that he knew how to keep Christmas well. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim would say, God bless us, every one!

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas!!!!!
Big Hugs from Germany,

Peace
Christmas
Stories
A Christmas Carol

Sonny's Visit to Santa Claus

In the mood for a story?? Here you go:

It was Christmas Eve day and the elves were excitedly talking over lunch in Mrs. Claus’ Kitchen.
They had a busy afternoon and night ahead of them. Throughout the year Santa’s elves made toys, but as the big night approached, there were three important jobs left.

Bud turned to their friend Sonny, who was visiting for the day. Sonny was proudly wearing a green and red striped honorary elf hat, presented that morning by none other than Santa himself.

"We have to finish wrapping and packing some presents," Bud said. "Then we have to bathe and groom the reindeer, and wash the sleigh. Santa depends on us to get everything ready tonight! Sonny, would you like to help?"

After an enthusiastic yes, Sonny joined the elves in Santa’s Workshop where they wrapped the last-minute presents.
There were dolls and balls, trains and planes-all sorts of toys for children everywhere. Sonny had never seen so many different toys! The happy group loaded the gifts into candy-apple-red wheelbarrows.
"Hmmm," said Sonny, "I wonder if any of these presents are going to my friend Sanni?"

This had been an exciting day, and it just got better all the time. There was so much to see and do here in Santa’s Secret Village. The elves had taken Sonny all over the village--even to the Reindeer Barn! There would be so much to tell Mr. C and everyone else back in Germany!

Their next job was to push the presents to the barn, then pack them in Santa’s huge red sack.

Bud turned to Sonny with a surprised look. "You catch on fast! And you’re just 27 – I’m 302 and in all the Christmases I’ve done this I’ve never seen such a good helper. I’m so glad you came to visit us today!"

Bud was so enthusiastic. In fact, all the elves were. It was fun to be with them, and Sonny felt lucky to be in Santa’s Secret Village-and on Christmas Eve! Helping Santa’s elves with the toys made it seem that Sonny was giving something to all the children, too. Sonny felt good. Christmas was like that.

With the presents packed, the little group’s next task was to take care of the reindeer. The elves and Sonny led the reindeer into the barn’s reindeer showers. The animals were big but friendly, and they nuzzled their cleanup crew--drawing giggles from two ticklish elves. Sonny gently scrubbed a very contented reindeer with a long-handled brush.
"Just wait until I tell my friends back in Germany about this!" exclaimed Sonny.
"Don’t forget to wash behind the antlers!" said Bud.

The group quickly dried off the reindeer and began brushing them. "This is so much fun!" said Sonny, "and the reindeer don’t seem to mind at all. In fact, they seem to like it as much as I like blogging!"
"Oh, yes," said Bonnie. "They all enjoy it. This is their big night, too, and they all want to look their best."

All the training, all the exercise, and all the reindeer games throughout the year had prepared the reindeer for this night.

Clean and happy, the reindeer curled up for a restful nap before their busy journey ahead. "The next time I take a nap, I’ll pretend I’m a reindeer," said Sonny.

"So, Bud, what do we do now?"
"Wash the sleigh!" replied Bud. "Santa wants it to really shine for the ride tonight. Just wait until you see it when the stars and moon shine on it. It’s really something!"

Santa’s helpers gathered sponges, soap, and buckets and headed toward the sleigh. Sonny never thought cleaning could be fun, but washing the reindeer sure was. Maybe the sleigh would be, too.

There it was, Santa’s sleigh. There was something magical about it, even now, a little tarnished and unpolished. Sonny stood staring, imagining it flying across the night sky.

"Come on, Sonny," cried Bud. "Grab a sponge!" Santa’s little helpers eagerly went to work. It didn’t take them long to wash and polish the sleigh. They cleaned and waxed the runners, making sure there were no rough spots on the blades. Sonny swept out the inside, finding half a cookie and two carrots.

The sleigh soon began to sparkle! "It looks great!" said Sonny "Just think of all the toys it will carry tonight. I wonder if anyone will get a teddy? I wonder what Santa will bring ME?"

"Ho! Ho! Ho!" bellowed a voice behind them. Sonny turned around. It was Santa Claus!

"What a great job you all did on my sleigh," said Santa. "Not only will it sparkle in the starlight, but it will really fly fast since you polished the runners, too."

Santa was proud of them. The little group had worked hard today, and they had done it all with happy enthusiasm. Santa smiled and said, "You have made a terrific team! You did a great job on the presents and on the reindeer. Now you’ve made this old sleigh look like new again!"

The elves looked pleased, and Sonny was bursting with pride. But they weren’t finished yet. "Okay, gang," said Bud. "Let’s go load the sleigh and hitch up the reindeer!"

The group pulled the sleigh to the Workshop. With its freshly waxed runners, the sleigh slid easily and quickly over the ground. Loading the bulging toy sack wouldn’t be quite so easy.

"Let’s count to three and then all lift together," suggested Bud.
"How about "heave, ho, ho, ho!" laughed Sonny.
The elves joined in the laughter, shouted "Heave, HO! HO! HO!" and swung the sack into the sleigh.
The sack flew into the sleigh and the elves and Sonny fell back, laughing and exhausted, into the snow.

Their last job for the night was to hitch the reindeer. When the elves and Sonny got to the Reindeer Barn, some of the animals were beginning to blink open their eyes. Soon all were standing, some of them shaking off the sleep and others stretching their legs.

Bud showed Sonny how to harness a reindeer. "Just wait until I tell my friends in Germany about this!" said Sonny. "This is so cool!"

The group quickly hitched the reindeer to the sleigh. Now fully awake and unable to stand still for a second, the reindeer began to prance in excitement, jingling their harnesses. They were ready!

Santa walked up, beaming with approval. "Thanks, my little elves, for another great job!" He leaned over and patted Sonny on the head. "And thank you, Sonny. You have been a terrific honorary elf!" Turning to the others, he continued. "Because of you, this is going to be a wonderful Christmas for many, many children!"

Santa Claus climbed into the sleigh and picked up the reins. "Goodnight, little elves," Santa said, "and good-bye, Sonny. We hope to see you again next year! Before you go back to Germany, go see Mrs. Claus. She has some candy for you!"

Then the reindeer took off, with Santa shouting MERRY CHRISTMAS!
What an extraordinary adventure for Sonny!

found at Northpole.com

I am a Snowman

Found this again at Sanni's Coffee 2 go...
Funny, isn't it?

3rd Advent

Okay, today is the third Advent. And as I promised, you'll get the next part of the story.
I guess that most of you know "A Christmas Carol" yet. But I love this story and I can read it over and over again. And that's the reasom why I wanna share it with you.

By the way, if you missed the first part last sunday you can read it -->here<--



A Christmas Carol - Part two

When Scrooge awoke, it was still very foggy and extremely cold, and there was no noise of people in the streets.

Marley’s ghost bothered him. He didn’t know whether it was a dream or not. Then he remembered that a spirit should visit him at one o’clock. So Scrooge decided to lie awake and wait what happens.

Suddenly, the clock struck one. Light flashed up in the room and a small hand drew back the curtains of his bed. Then Scrooge found himself face to face with the visitor. It was a strange figure – like a child: yet not so like a child as like an old man. Its hair, which hung about its neck and down its back, was white as if with age; and yet the face had not a wrinkle in it.

“Who, and what are you?” Scrooge asked the ghost.

“I am the Ghost of Christmas Past. Rise and come with me.”

The ghost took Scrooge back in time, to a place where Scrooge was a boy. There Scrooge could see his younger self playing with other children. They were cheerfully running around the Christmas tree; and although they were poor, they had lots of fun.

The spirit also took Scrooge to a warehouse, where Scrooge was an apprentice. Scrooge saw the merry Christmas Eve they spent in the office with their boss Mr Fezziwig and his family. There was food and music and dancing and everybody was happy.

Then the spirit took Scrooge to yet another place. Scrooge was older now. He was not alone, but sat by the side of a beautiful young girl, Belle. There were tears in her eyes.

“It is sad to see,” she said, softly. “that another love has displaced me – the love of gold. Your heart was full of love once, but now …? I think it is better for us to part. May you be happy in the life you have chosen.”

“Spirit,” said Scrooge, “show me no more. Take me home. Why do you torture me?”

“One shadow more,” said the ghost.

They were in another scene and place; a room, not very large or handsome, but full of comfort. There was a happy family celebrating Christmas with all their warmth and heartiness. Scrooge recognised Belle, his former girlfriend. She was married now and had children.

“Belle,” said her husband with a smile, “I saw an old friend of yours this afternoon. Mr Scrooge it was. I passed his office window; and as it was not shut up, and he had a candle inside, I could see him there. His partner is dying, I hear; and there he sat alone. Quite alone in the world, I do believe.”

“Spirit,” said Scrooge in a broken voice, “Take me back! I cannot bear it any longer.”

He struggled with the ghost to take him back. And finally Scrooge found himself in his own bed again. He was very exhausted and sank into a heavy sleep.

Scrooge woke up in the middle of a snore, just before the clock struck one again. He sat up in his bed and waited for the second ghost to come. And there it was – the Ghost of Christmas Present. It had curly brown hair, sparkling eyes and it wore a simple green robe with white fur. Its feet were bare and on its head it wore a holly wreath.

The ghost took Scrooge to Bob Cratchit’s house – a very poor little dwelling. In the kitchen you could see Mrs Cratchit preparing Christmas dinner. Her children were cheerfully running around. Then the door opened and Bob Cratchit came in with Tiny Tim upon his shoulders. Tiny Tim was Bob Cratchit’s youngest son. He bore a little crutch and had an iron frame around his limbs.

“On our way home, Tiny Tim told me that he hoped the people saw him in the church, because he was a cripple. It might be pleasant to them to remember on Christmas Day, who made lame beggars walk and blind men see.” Bob’s voice trembled when he said this.

Then Christmas dinner was ready, and everyone sat down at the table. As the Cratchits were very poor, it was not much they had for Christmas dinner. But still everyone was joyful and you could feel that they all had the Christmas Spirit in their hearts.

“A Merry Christmas to us all, my dears! God bless us!” said Bob Cratchit.

“God bless us every one!” said Tiny Tim.

He sat very close to his father’s side upon his little stool. Bob held his little hand, as if he feared to lose him.

“Spirit,” said Scrooge, who felt sorry for the boy, “tell me if Tiny Tim will live.”

“I see an empty seat,” replied the ghost, “and a crutch without an owner. If these shadows don’t change in the future, the child will die.”

This made Scrooge very sad, but the spirit went on and took Scrooge to his nephew’s house. Fred and his friends had a very cheerful party and played games. Scrooge really enjoyed their party and wanted to stay for another while but in a second it all faded and Scrooge and the spirit were again on their travels.

They visited many homes in many places: they saw sick people who were cheerful; people in foreign lands who were close at home, poor people who felt rich that day – all because of the Christmas Spirit.

Suddenly, Scrooge noticed something strange about the ghost. Two children-like figures were at the ghost’s feet – a boy and a girl. But, they looked old and dreadful, like little monsters. Scrooge was shocked.

“Spirit, are they your creatures?” Scrooge asked.

“They are Man’s creatures,” said the spirit “The boy is Ignorance. The girl is Want. Beware them both, but most of all beware this boy” said the spirit.

“Have they no place they can go?” asked Scrooge.

“Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses?” the spirit turned on Scrooge with his own words.

The bell struck twelve. The Ghost of Christmas Present disappeared. And at the last stroke of the bell, Scrooge saw the third ghost coming towards him....

Okay, that's for today. Last part will follow on Christmas Eve.

Have all a nice Sunday,

Advent
Christmas
Stories
A Christmas Carol

I am Cupid...

I found this quiz at Sanni's Blog. It's a nice Idea, so I did it too!

Which of Santa's Reindeer are you? Cupid Like Cupid you know how to spread love. You have a place in your heart for everyone and are always there with a hug or a kiss

Find out which of Santa's Reindeer you are at Quizopolis.com

++++ThursdayThirteen#six++++

Welcome to Christmassy Thursday Thirteen!

Today’s Thursday Thirteen presents 13 Christmas decorations in our home. Please excuse the minor quality of the pictures, but we don’t have a good Digi-Cam yet. We only have a digital Camcorder with what I can take pictures. But when there's not enough light, the pictures don’t have that good quality. I hope you don’t mind.

1.)Our “Guardian Angel”
welcomes us and every one else who visit us at the door. I love this Angel (it’s a broom). But I know some people who think it’s kitschy (won’t tell any names, right Mr.C?)

2.)

Tiny little Reindeer Lantern
in our bathroom on the basin.
I’ve decorated our bathroom with lots of candles throughout the year, so this was the only place I could put some Christmassy =)

3.)

Little blue Santa
on the bureau in the hall.

Accompanied by

4.)

Santa’s Storm-Lamp

and

5.)

Ski-Santa with his little dog.

6.)

Teddy and Frosty
in their wooden wreath hanging on the wall opposite to the bureau

7.)

“Frosty the snowman…”
Stovetop-Covers in the kitchen

8.)“Star”-Light
in the kitchen window

9.)

"Little House"
on the cupboard in our living-room
(I’m sorry, I forgot to take a picture when it’s day, but I’ll do it today and replace this one)

10.)

Frosty the Snowman
sitting on the cupboard’s rack

11.)

Our tiny Nutcracker
framed by a Christmas-cactus and a Christmas-Star (I don’t know how you call it).

12.)

“Star”-Lights again
in living-room window

13.)

Little Santa
on the Telly.

Okay, that's all for today. Hope you liked it. Please don't forget to leave a comment!!!



Christmassy Hugs,




Thursday Thirteen
Christmas
meme
Kitty

Mulled-Wine

As promised, here's the recipie for our traditional German "Glühwein". It's only one of dozens variations. To be honest I don't do it that often coz it's much cheaper to buy mulled-wine in the supermarket. But I'm going to do this for Christmas-Eve.

Okay, here we go.

Ingredients

• 4 quarts dry red wine (zinfandel, merlot, burgundy, etc.)
• 1 pint brandy
• 1 cup sugar
• 6 cinnamon sticks
• 12 cloves, whole
• 1/8 tsp allspice
• 1/8 tsp mace
• 2 oranges, sliced
• 1 lemon, sliced

Directions

1. Pour the wine into a large pot and begin heating over low heat.
2. As it begins to warm, add sugar and spices. Stir until sugar is dissolved.
3. Add the brandy.
4. Heat thoroughly, but do not allow to boil! "If it's boiled - it's spoiled!" ;-)
5. Add the lemon and orange.
6. Steep for about 1 hour over low heat.
7. You may add more sugar during this time if desired, stirring well so it disolves.
8. Serve hot and garnish with orange slices. A stick cinnamon could also be used

That's it! Sit down on your sofa, light a candle, listen to some Christmas-Songs and enjoy!
Please let me know if you liked it!!!


German
Christmas
Christmas recipies
Advent

Second Advent

Today it's the 2nd Advent.
This means today we light the second candle. As I told you before in my post bout Advent we light one candle on each Sunday in Advent. To be correct we only call the Sundays "Advent" and all the days from the first Sunday to Christmas Advent-Season or just "Vorweihnachtszeit" (Time before Christmas).

So because this is not a "normal" day, I'll post something special. So I decided to share my most favourite Christmas-Story with you. It's "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens.

You all know this is a very long story so I looked for a simplified version. But this is still very long, so I divide it in chapters. So I'll post one Chapter on each Sunday and the end of the story I'll give to you on 24. of December.

Okay let's start.

A Christmas Carol
by Charles Dickens

Chapter 1 – Marley’s Ghost

Marley was dead, to begin with – there’s no doubt about that. He was as dead as a doornail.

Marley and Scrooge were business partners once. But then Marley died and now their firm belonged to Scrooge, who was a stingy and heartless old man. Once upon a time, on Christmas Eve, old Scrooge sat busy in his office. It was very cold outside and in Scrooge’s office it was not much warmer either. Suddenly, a cheerful person entered the office. It was Scrooge’s nephew. “A merry Christmas, uncle! God save you!” Fred said. “Bah!” said Scrooge, “Humbug!” “Christmas a humbug, uncle!” said Scrooge’s nephew. “You don’t mean that, I am sure?”
“I do,” said Scrooge. “What’s Christmas time to you? You have to pay bills without money! You’re a year older but not an hour richer! Keep Christmas in your way, and let me keep it in mine.”
“Keep it? But you don’t keep it,” said Scrooge’s nephew, who was a very friendly young man. He even tried to cheer Scrooge up and invited him for dinner on Christmas Day. But Scrooge said no and sent him out.

When Scrooge’s nephew left, two gentlemen came in to collect money for the poor who had no place they could go. Stingy Scrooge, however, didn’t give the gentlemen any money.
“Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses?” he asked sarcastically and told them to leave the office.

When it was time to close the office, Scrooge talked to his clerk, Bob Cratchit. “You want all day off tomorrow, don’t you?” said Scrooge. “If that is okay, Sir,” answered the clerk. “It’s not okay,” said Scrooge, “and it is not fair. After all, I have to pay you for the day although you don’t work. But if it must be, I want you to start work even earlier the following morning.” Cratchit promised that he would; and the two went home.

Scrooge lived all alone in an old house. The yard was very dark and scary that night and when Scrooge wanted to unlock the door, he had the feeling that he saw Marley’s face there. This was rather spooky, but Scrooge was not frightened easily. “Humbug,” he said, opened the door and walked in. He locked himself in, however, which he usually didn’t do. But then he felt safe again and sat down before the fire.

Suddenly, Scrooge heard a noise, deep down below, as if somebody was dragging a heavy chain. The noise came nearer and nearer, and then Scrooge saw a ghost coming right through the heavy door. It was Marley’s ghost, and his chains were long; they were made of cash-boxes, keys and heavy purses.

“Who are you?” said Scrooge. “In life I was your partner, Jacob Marley.” said the ghost. “But why do you come to me now?” asked Scrooge again. “I must wander through the world and I wear the chains because I was so stingy in life. I only cared about business but not about the people around me. Now, I am here to warn you. You still have a chance, Ebenezer. Three spirits will come to you. Expect the first tomorrow, when the bell tolls one.”

When he had said these words, Marley's Ghost dissapeared, and the night became quiet again. Scrooge went straight to bed, without undressing, and felt asleep immediately.

That's all for today. I hope you liked it. Chapter two will follow next Sunday.
Have a wonderful Second Advent.

Advent
Christmas
Stories
A Christmas Carol

Nikolaus didn't forget me!

Sorry I didn't post this earlier, but I was very busy within the last two days.

Nikolaus didn't forget me! As I said, he just didn't have my new address!! He brought my little gift to my daddy's house.
I got a Christmas-Cactus and a Stutenkerl.


Now, I guess, you wonder what is a "Stutenkerl". It's difficult to explain coz there's no english word for it. Maybe you can compare it a little with the Gingerbread-Man. That's the way it looks like. (Nearly)

Stutenkerl is a typical german "cake" children get for Nikolaus-Day. In some regions it's also called "Weckmann". It's made of milk, butter, sugar, eggs, flour. It tastes sweet and I prefer to eat for breakfast with a little jam on it. *yummy*

I found a recipie for Weckmänner (wich is the same). If you're interested to have a look you'll find it -->here<--. I hope you like it.

Christmas
Advent
Christmas Recipie
Kitty

Nikolaus

Today is “Nikolaus” here in Germany. Maybe lots of you don’t know what this is about so I’ll give you some information.

When Germany was being Christianized in the early Middle Ages, St. Nicholas, a 4th century bishop of Asia Minor, became popular here.

St. Nicholas is the patron saint of children and his feast day is December 6th.

Most German children polish their shoes or boots and put them out on the doorstep during the night between the 5th and 6th, only to find them stuffed with little presents in the morning. But some of them maybe won’t find goodies.
St. Nick carries with him a book of sins with which he determined whether the child warrants the goodies or a birch of twigs (“Rute”).

Historically, St. Nick rode a white horse and he traveled with a dark-faced companion, most commonly called Knecht Ruprecht, although several other names were used for him in some parts of Germany.

St. Nick looks like Santa Claus. But German children distinctly distinguish between the Weihnachtsmann (Santa Claus) and the Nikolaus (St. Nick).

I didn’t find anything on our doorstep this morning. Maybe because I forgot to put out my boots? Or maybe St. Nick thinks I’m too old for this tradition?

I’m definitely not!!! I’m still a child at heart!

So I’ll go to my daddy’s house to see if Nikolaus was there (maybe he doesn’t know my new address…) ;-)

I'll tell you tomorrow....

Nikolaus
Christmas
Advent

Advent

- the preparation for Christmas

Advent is the time of preparation for Christmas, for many people the most beautiful time of the year. It's also known as the most silent time of the year.

Advent season starts at the first Sunday of Advent (we call it "Adventssonntag"), which is always between the 27th of November and 3rd of December each year and ends on Christmas Eve.
With the "first advent" the new church year begins (in catholic and evangelic church).

Where does the name "Advent" come from?

The name "Advent" comes from the Latin word "adventus" and means "Arrival".
In the 5th century advent was celebrated in the Area round Ravenna (Italy) for the first time.

Pope Gregor the Great established the number of Advent Sundays. Until then there was always a changing number up to 6 Sundays. The four weeks stand for 4000 years, in which humanity (after Christian calculation of times) had to wait for Redeemer's Arrival.
In former years the time of advent was a Christian time for abstinence.

Advent tradtitions

Advent wreath
Most families celebrate advent with an Advent wreath, festive decorated with four candles.
The wreath is mostly made of thin fir twigs. It's a very young custom, which was adopted from most of t he German and Austrian families at the beginning of the 19th century. The Advent wreath stands for the Christian fight against darkness of life.

The first Advent wreath in Germany was set up by Johann Hinrich Wichern (see picture) in 1839 in front of a home for orphaned kids.
On a wooden wheel 23 candles were set. Four big white ones stood for the Sundays until the Day of the Christ, 19 small red candles for the weekdays until Christmas. Every day the kids lit a candle so that all candles were lit on Christmas Eve.
Since 1860 Wichern used fir wreaths.

Christstollen:
Typical for the (German) advent season is to bake "Christstollen" (I think in English it's called "stollen" as well). The eldest Christmas Bakery was mentioned in 1330.

Advent singing:
To join in the silent advent season in many areas of Austria and also in parts of Germany the traditional "Advent singing" takes place.
In Salzburg (Austria) Advent singing began as a small, private festivity in 1946 and advanced with an audience of 40.000 visitors each year to the third most important Happening in Austria.
In many German cities each year an international singing takes place.

And finally, our Advent wreath:

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