Have a good Christmas time ...
Dec. 3rd, 2003 08:23 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
scottishlassWrote this in a forum (re: what is home?) and thought it was even more appropriate in my diary:
When I was a child Christmas was always a wondrous time with our family. Since early December my granny would start baking and making things. While other Germans rushed around to get Christmas presents and stuff, for us it was a time of coming together and making our own Christmas presents rather than buying stuff.
Yuletide was celebrated with lighting a Yulelog every morning in the hearth for cooking and one for the night to keep the house warm. Holly, fir and mistletoes were strung up throughout the house in garlands and almost everywhere there were candles to light up as soon as it got dark, we also placed candles in our windows so that anyone passing by would be welcomed in. That is an old custom called Oidche Choinnle (Night of candles/light) and my granny always made a point of inviting some poor family into our home and feed them. It all sounds so charitable, but it wasn't really about religion, but just the way it was - being humane.
During Yuletide, late afternoons were spent baking, mostly shortbread with my granny because she never got the knack of doing German Spritzgebäck (German cookies). On December 6th St. Nick would leave sweets for me in my boots, my greatgranddad pretending he didn't know how all these sweets ended up in my shoes On Sundays we would drive out to the tree school to visit our tree :) And on 21st December we would get it, singing Christmas carols about Christmas trees on the way back. My greatgrandmother always said that when we sing we will soothe the tree's spirit and thank him to have him as our Christmas tree. From 21st to 24th of Dec. we then would each take a turn to decorate the tree with straw stars, my poor efforts in making Christmas garlands, glass baubles and wooden little figures. Strangely enough we never had a nativity scene underneath our tree like others had. I don't know why, it might be because we were such a mixed family religion wise. I know that my grandfather (my mom's stepdad) always took me to the temple on Hanukkah so I guess we didn't put up a manger because of him (come to think of it, I never asked. The manger was never a big issue in our family ).
Christmas itself was always a mixture of Hogmanay and German traditional Christmas. On Christmas Eve, we would have plum pudding and whiskey punch, preparing a small Haggis for my greatgrandfather (my granny who was Scot never liked the stuff but her German husband did). We sang songs, lighted real candles on the decorated tree and visited the Midnight mass in Church. Then on Christmas Day the whole family would visit, my uncles and aunts, my mother's parents (when I say granny I mean my greatgrandmom who raised me), and friends of the family. More Christmas pudding, more whiskey (without the punch this time ) more everything ... all sitting around a long table eating, talking, arguing, singing. It was a great time. When Christmas was over, in our family it wasn't over yet - here in Germany ppl chuck out their trees a day after Boxing Day but we kept our tree till Twelfth Night (6th January) and celebrated Nollaig Beag (little Christmas) because of the three wise kings. Only on this day we took down the tree and chopped it into Yuletide logs for next year.
Now with having written this all, I realized how much I miss this time. Or how much I miss my grands. I guess I can count myself lucky that I got to know my greatgrandparents. Especially not only knowing them but living with them, shaping me and my mind, and giving me so much love and kindness and helping me become the person I am now. Gosh, I miss them both terribly especially now during Yuletide, even though my granny is dead two decades now and my gramps passed away ten years past and I should have grown used to the fact that I'll never have this kind of Christmas time ever again. But remembering makes me happy, to have had the best of both worlds. The giddy, happy time of a Scottish Yuletide as well as the more solemn, serious time of Christmas Eve (Sacred Eve in German).
Sorry, I don't want to leave this post on a sad note. Just remember, Christmas time, be it Hogmanay, Kwanzaah or Hanukkah, should be a happy time, to meet friends and family. To celebrate life and love and just having a good time and passing this happiness on to others. You don't need big expensive presents or big fancy dos, just surround yourself with the ppl you love and have a wonderful Christmas time :D
Una
When I was a child Christmas was always a wondrous time with our family. Since early December my granny would start baking and making things. While other Germans rushed around to get Christmas presents and stuff, for us it was a time of coming together and making our own Christmas presents rather than buying stuff.
Yuletide was celebrated with lighting a Yulelog every morning in the hearth for cooking and one for the night to keep the house warm. Holly, fir and mistletoes were strung up throughout the house in garlands and almost everywhere there were candles to light up as soon as it got dark, we also placed candles in our windows so that anyone passing by would be welcomed in. That is an old custom called Oidche Choinnle (Night of candles/light) and my granny always made a point of inviting some poor family into our home and feed them. It all sounds so charitable, but it wasn't really about religion, but just the way it was - being humane.
During Yuletide, late afternoons were spent baking, mostly shortbread with my granny because she never got the knack of doing German Spritzgebäck (German cookies). On December 6th St. Nick would leave sweets for me in my boots, my greatgranddad pretending he didn't know how all these sweets ended up in my shoes
Christmas itself was always a mixture of Hogmanay and German traditional Christmas. On Christmas Eve, we would have plum pudding and whiskey punch, preparing a small Haggis for my greatgrandfather (my granny who was Scot never liked the stuff
Now with having written this all, I realized how much I miss this time. Or how much I miss my grands. I guess I can count myself lucky that I got to know my greatgrandparents. Especially not only knowing them but living with them, shaping me and my mind, and giving me so much love and kindness and helping me become the person I am now. Gosh, I miss them both terribly especially now during Yuletide, even though my granny is dead two decades now and my gramps passed away ten years past and I should have grown used to the fact that I'll never have this kind of Christmas time ever again. But remembering makes me happy, to have had the best of both worlds. The giddy, happy time of a Scottish Yuletide as well as the more solemn, serious time of Christmas Eve (Sacred Eve in German).
Sorry, I don't want to leave this post on a sad note. Just remember, Christmas time, be it Hogmanay, Kwanzaah or Hanukkah, should be a happy time, to meet friends and family. To celebrate life and love and just having a good time and passing this happiness on to others. You don't need big expensive presents or big fancy dos, just surround yourself with the ppl you love and have a wonderful Christmas time :D
Una
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2003-12-03 01:00 am (UTC)thank you for sharing this part of your personal history. I actually had tears in my eyes reading your experiences, your memories... That past is still alive with you as long as you keep these souvenirs alive in your heart.
Have a wonderful Christmas time, be happy and keep your beautiful memories alive.
*Hugs*
Marie
no subject
Date: 2003-12-03 05:08 am (UTC)I've been wanting to call you for the past days, but life is a little bit hectic these days.
I absolutely understand what you mean.
Since, for myself, wasn't ever very much the family type (due to circumstances), I have started to borrow and apply other traditions in my home and this implies, that at my house we celebrate Advent. For us it's the best way to prepare for X-mas Eve and also find again the true spirit of this holiday.
We cherish this oasis of peace, leisure and togetherness that we "enforce" all four sundays before Xmas, when we read Xmas stories and listen to nice music, eat homemade cookies, and just share time out and talk and relax ...
These moments keep me sane in the middle of the end of the year frenzy at work and altogether madness that surrounds me ...
Looking forward to quality time with you soon!
Elf
no subject
Date: 2003-12-09 01:19 am (UTC)comment-allez-vous?
I'm still swamped with work and I hope you'll have a wonderful Christmas time too.
Una
no subject
Date: 2003-12-09 01:22 am (UTC)German Christmas is always so stifling, when my granny died my mom insisted on having a traditional German Xmas and almost the whole famil was suicidal afterwards ... too solemn, too depressive ... Now I know why so many folks commit suicide during Christmas time :s
Chica, I have probably found someone with PHP skills ...and I mean PHP skills. I have to pay him, but as he only wants subscriptions to Sims sites I can manage :)
Miss you,
Una
no subject
Date: 2003-12-09 04:37 am (UTC)Looking forward to talk to you again and sending you best vibes to ovecome the mountain of work
Lotsa Love
Elf (who managed to start baking Lebkuchen at midnight)