Christmas 2017

A  very traditional three day Christmas 

I had a very traditional three day Christmas and I’m very glad I had the opportunity to get an insight into how this festival is celebrated by native Germans. It also made me realize how similar families from all over the world are on these big holidays when everyone- children, husbands, wives, in-laws have to gather together. But the best part of the holiday was that I finally met up with my younger brother after a really long time and it was great to see each other again and catch up. Everyone seemed to have grown up and matured a lot but that bond we shared was still the same.

❃❃Christmas Day 1❃❃

We went into the woods to chop off a Christmas tree and carried it back home by car. How it was carried into the living room and made to stand upright, I was too tired to witness, as I went to nap.

❀❀Christmas Day 2❀❀

I put lights onto the Christmas tree and decorated it with shinny balls and figures – all of this a first time! It was lots of fun hanging decorations onto the tree, but I imagine it would be a lot less fun taking off all that many pieces and putting them back into boxes.

❃❃Christmas Day 3❃❃

I had a very traditional German dish. It’s something like the Chinese hotpot in the sense that you choose your own items to ‘cook’. You put all what you want onto a little ‘pan’ and put this ‘pan’ into the stove, leave it there, and after a while take it out. It was very interesting and my younger brother enjoyed it particularly and tried out various combinations whereas I mostly just stuck to one.

❀❀Christmas Day 4❀❀

After a very interesting holiday, I took the train back to the little town of Offenburg where everything is always peaceful and quiet. Now that reminds me of how I had to transfer between trains twice, and how each of the transfer times were less than 5 minutes – yet I made it, which for somebody who doesn’t often travel alone, was quite the proud moment.