Gretta Gone Global

It is 12 noon and -2°C in the sun.  This morning it was -13°C when I left the house for my 20 minute walk to Mass.

Yesterday I was debating whether I should go or not, or go in the afternoon downtown.  Friday night I went to bed with a sour throat and all Saterday I felt terrible.  Well, in the 36 hours between Friday night and Sunday morning I slept a total of 24 hours.  Consequently, I woke up at 7 this morning well rested and feeling greatly improved.  I got up, baked Bread Pudding for my hostfam and drank a cup of coffee.  It was light at 8, so I decided I could make it.  At 9am I put on two pairs of pants, two shirts, two scarves, my thickest pair of socks, a pair of gloves, a hat, a coat, and shoes.  Then I headed out across the fields to Church.

I was glad I went.  The parish children were all dressed up as the Wise Men, the Sternsingern, and the farmland on the way had turned into a Winter Wonderland with the snow and cold.  The sun came up and warmed my face on the way home.  I could only tell it was still cold by the way my breath formed a layer of ice on my scarf.  Now I am home, with a cup of tea and a warm scarf around my neck.  Hopefully I will be healthy again tomorrow so I can go to work… or maybe I’d rather not be healthy quite yet.

Well, Christmas is officially over.

I should be sick of it by now, but I was still sad as I saw people packing away decorations today.  (Well, I could go to Spain where it is still Christmas for a little while.) 

Christmas in Germany seems to last forever.  Unhindered by Thanksgiving and Halloween, Christmas treats and such started appearing in stores around the end of Oktober. By the middle of November the season is in full swing.  Christmas markets seem to parallel the flames on the Advent wreath in number and brightness.  Also like the candles, some stay lit over a month long, like the one in Frankfurt.  The biggest candles are lit first and burn the longest.

Finally, after so many weeks of preparation, real Christmas comes.  On Christmas Eve all activity dissappears into warm homes, only to emerge sporatically as families walk off their large meals on each of the three days of Christmas.  Yes, three days of Christmas.  Logically, the actual holiday is proportionate in length to the preceeding hype.

Each of the three days my hostfamily and I ate a lovely, homemade, sitdown dinner.  Each day we opened presents, each day from different sources that had been there for Kaffee und Kuchen in the afternoon.  Each day we sat in peace and admired the decorations and Christmas music.  Each day we took a walk to aid digestion and revive bloodflow.  Each day was really Christmas.

When many Americans were already thinking about taking the Christmas tree down, we were just putting it up.  When most Americans were slogging back to work, we were still relaxing and recovering.  When many Americans’ Christmas presents were already out of sight and mind, we were just readmiring ours.  Now, when many Americans may have already forgotten where the Christmas decorations are, we are just packing them away.

But lets look at the positive side: there is still the beautiful, fluffy snow to make winter bearable.  And the freezing temperatures provide innummerable ice skating rinks.  And one joyful season just makes way for another…  Let Karneval begin!