Fasnet and the Jugendschutz

Fasnet is the Swabian word for Fasching/Karnival, and this weekend is high season for shenanigans. I always intend to research the historical traditions behind this springtime custom of chasing away the demons of winter, but so far I haven't got around to it. Seeing as the whole business involves a lot of people, a lot of drinking, and masks, it's just not my scene.

Bildechinger Blockstrecker

This Thursday is Schmotziger, which I've learned doesn't really mean "Dirty Thursday" (though that fits in a way, too) but rather probably comes from the word "Schmalz," which is fat or lard. Around this time it was - and still is - popular to eat sweet and fatty foods to get ready for the fasting time of Lent.

Fasnetsküchle
"little Fasching cakes"

Enthusiasts say Fasnet or Fasching is not just about getting drunk, and I'll believe that. However, this week's Real ad brochure begins with beer, more beer, Jack Daniels and Coke in a can, Schnaps, vodka, Sekt (sparkling wine), beer glasses, glass boots, and a beer barrel carousel. The seasonal section, closest to the entrance and the cash registers, is full of alcohol and costumes.

This week's Blättle (local newsletter) is full of info about where to find the parades and parties as well as reminders to be sensible and clean up after your damn selves. Vergebens (all for nothing). It generally takes a good week for all the filth in the streets, parks, and public areas to be cleaned up by city workers or to blow away. Broken bottles, crushed cans, empty beer cases, confetti and candy wrappers from parades...

There are also two articles in the Blättle about Jugendshutz (protection of youth), which involves laws but mainly protecting young people against their own dumbass decisions. We are reminded:

• Children under 16 may not buy alcohol.
• Children between 16 and 18 may buy beer, wine, or Sekt, but no hard liquor.
• As of age 18 young people can buy any alcohol.
• Children between 14 and 16 who are in the company of their parents or guardians may consume alcohol, but not Branntwein (hard liquor - the alcohol content is too high).
• Children 16 and older are allowed in pubs even without parents until midnight.

Several of the stores in our town are participating voluntarily in a program called the "Rottweiler Idee" (Rottweil* idea) which hopes to dimish the incidents of young people drinking to the point of alcohol poisoning, which I applaud. At the same time, I realize that a wee bit of planning ahead (and most Germans are masters at this) circumvents these noble efforts. According to the article, local incidents requiring police intervention during Fasnet have decreased since the Rottweiler Idee was implemented.

*Rottweil is the Swabian hightown of Fasnet. Köln holds this fame to the north, but down here Rottweil is the place to be to celebrate the most traditional of Fasnet gatherings, parties, and so on.

What the stores in the vicinity of the Bahnhof have agreed to is not selling hard liquor to persons under the age of 25 on three upcoming days of drunken foolery: Schmotziger, Fasnetssamstag (Saturday) and Fasnetsmontag (Rosenmontag - the Monday that is the highlight of the Fasnet madness fun). Sunday doesn't need to be on the list because all stores are closed every Sunday.

Our town has been doing this since 2014. The store M and I use most often, Real, is not participating, unfortunately. This store is not near the Bahnhof, but its neighbor Norma is participating and I wish Real would, too. The kids can still buy beer, wine, and Sekt and can do plenty damage to themselves with those, but limiting hard liquor is at least something.

Not only will Real continue to sell alcohol to everyone over 18,
but plenty of the offerings are also on sale through Saturday.

I'm not a teetotaler and don't judge people for including alcohol as part of a celebration of whatever kind. I even think the U.S.'s drinking age of 21 is a bit silly when kids at 18 can serve in the army. Alcohol is part of German culture, and having a glass of wine or beer with lunch - even at a business meeting - isn't unusual. I just applaud the idea of (voluntarily!) making it as difficult as possible for young people to binge drink themselves into a coma or worse. The cut-off age of 25 is probably bit harsh, but I don't have a problem with it during the craziest days of Fasnet. The scariest thing is that there is surely plenty of drinking and driving during these days, and since Germans can drive as of age 18 but lack experience and judgement, the Rottweiler Idee could be intended to address this danger as well as to limit the ability of already wasted young people from buying even more hard liquor.

Whatever your plans for the days of Fasnet, Fastnet, Fasching, or Karnival, stay safe and make good choices! And for mercy's sake, don't drink and drive!!!

Silvester in Germany

As New Year's Eve approaches I thought I would write about the local traditions which make this night special and memorable.

First of all, why is NYE called Silvester in Germany? For the same reason that December 6th is called Nikolaustag (St. Nick's Day). In the Catholic tradition, almost every day of the year celebrates a certain saint based on the date of that saint's birth, baptism, or death. That is the saint's Gedenktag, or feast day.

Silvester is the patron saint of housepets, cows, masons, and bricklayers. He was Pope (315-335 A.D.) during the reign of Constantine and when the Council of Nicea (Nicene Creed, 325 A.D.) was convened. He died on December 31, 335, and since NYE is Silvester's feast day, the last night of the year in Germany is called Silvester.

We follow the old Silvester traditions of the Germans - all except for the Feuerwerk, though we do step outside at midnight to watch the townfolk try their very best to set things aflame. We don't do gute Vorsätze für's neue Jahr (New Year's resolutions) either - we're realists and know we won't follow them more than a day or two.

Fondue was a thing of the 70s, but many people still do this or Raclette on Silvester. Those are perfect meals for an evening when you need to draw out the hours until midnight, since one is forced to eat slowly, cooking each bite-size piece of meat individually. We do ours in homemade beef broth, which we prepare in the afternoon with meat & bones from the butcher and vegetables from Mustafa, our Tuesday vegetable guy who is willing to deliver on holidays!

No German Silvester would be complete without the British comedy short Dinner for One, starring Freddy Frinton. This is a cult hit in Germany only, as few Brits and no Americans have ever heard of it. It's a ridiculously funny sketch celebrating yearly traditions: Miss Sophie is celebrating her 90th birthday, and her butler James has set places at the table for her four closest friends. With each of the seven courses served, Miss Sophie requests a different type of wine, which James pours for each of the guests. The trouble is, Sophie has out-lived all four of her friends, so James takes on their roles - and dialects - to toast with Sophie. As James gets drunker and drunker and has several run-ins with a tiger carpet, Sophie enjoys the fancy meal, the classy wine, and the fading memories.

We've done Bleigiessen a few times, but as of this year it's banned by the EU and you can't buy these kits anymore. Bleigiessen means "pouring lead," which probably makes clear the reason for the ban. Each person takes a piece of lead shaped like a Monopoly playing piece, melts it over a candle (or flambé burner, when you realize the tea candle will never get hot enough) and pours it into a bowl of cold water. It makes a cool popping sound as it solidifies into an unrecognizable shape. You then use the mysterious guide that comes with the kit to choose the shape you think most fits to your solid glob of lead. Each shape has a meaning and predicts something about your upcoming year. You know, if you believe in that kind of thing. Which we definitely do.

Bleigiessen is one of those activities that helps helped keep overtired kids occupied during the long hours till fireworks start.

In Swabia the Brezel is a beloved snack throughout the year, but on Silvester Swabians laud Neujahrsgebäck. The Neujahrsbrezel is a large braided pretzel made of Hefeteig, or yeast dough. It's sweet by German standards, and extra delicious when warmed and spread with butter.

It wouldn't be a German tradition without a symbolic meaning attached, so here we go: One explanation for why we indulge in large, sweet bakery at the start of the new year is that we have to build up our fat stores for the approaching Fastenzeit (fasting time). Fattening up isn't really an issue for most of us these days, so another theory is that evil spirits nibble on these treats and are appeased - and therefore leave us alone during the winter months.

Though there are other shapes of Neujahrsgebäck (wreaths, crescents, man-shaped), the pretzel is a favorite because it has no beginning and no end, thereby symbolizing eternity and bringing good luck.

Be careful if you're spending Silvester in Baden (the region of Baden-Württemberg that is not Swabia) - it's a tradition there to bake coins into the Neujahrsgebäck for good luck. Or bad luck if you break a tooth biting into the tasty treat. Most dentists are closed during the holidays.

We will also likely watch Angela Merkel's final Silvesteransprache (New Year's Eve speech). I can't claim that to be a tradition for us during the last several years, but it probably should have been.

2014

Traditional good luck symbols in Germany are the Marienkäfer (Ladybug), the Schornsteinfeger (chimney sweep), the Glücksklee (clover) and the Glücksschwein (lucky pig), all pictured in my first photo above. The Glücksschwein has a Pfennig or Cent stuck in its mouth or on its back, and you can find edible pink ones made of nasty Marzipan, which takes like a combination of Playdough and earwax.
I haven't noticed any extra good luck from the Schornsteinfeger's visits- only the bill he leaves with us two or three times a year when he checks our furnace and sweeps the chimney. And yes, he does show up dressed like that - in all black with a hat or cap, and carrying the funny brush thingy. We provide the ladder, though.

One more tradition that seems fairly recent is the Silvesterlauf or Neujahrslauf. This is a mini-marathon held in cities and small towns to bring the community together and often raise some money for a good cause. At the end of the run everyone refills with pretzels and beer. That's too much sport for me, so I'm going to count our walk to the store on Saturday in search of icky Marizpan pigs (we searched in vain) as our Silvester exercise.

At midnight we toast the New Year (anstoßen) with Kessler Sekt from Esslingen, step outside to watch the neighbors' fireworks while M prowls around the house watching for burning embers landing on the roof, greet any folks from the neighborhood who also came out to watch the show and inhale the  sanctioned Feinstaub, then go back inside, blow out the candles, and go to bed.

We may not be the most exciting folks, but we enjoy our Silvester every year.

The common greetings for this holiday are:

  [Wir wünschen Euch einen] guten Rutsch ins neue Jahr! (up to midnight on Silvester)
  Guten Rutsch!  (lazy version of the above)

  Prosit Neujahr!
  [Ich wünsche Dir ein] gutes neues Jahr!
  Gutes Neues!  (lazy version of the above)

Prosit Neujahr!!

Holiday Meals

I'm a planner. This is helpful in Germany during the holidays, since stores are closed on days when big family meals are scheduled. If you forgot to buy carrots for the carrot casserole or a baguette to go with the soup, you're out of luck. There was one year when Schweinebraten (pork roast) was on our plan for New Year's Day, and minutes after the stores closed on Silvester, I realized I'd never bought the roast! I vowed I would never let that happen again.

More on this meal shortly...

Sometime back in November I made a list of meals we'd cook during Christmas, and we assigned them days, padded in between with "leftovers." I made three shopping lists and checked them five times each: one for Mustafa, our Tuesday vegetable guy who was willing to deliver on Friday evening, one for pre-ordered meat from our butcher, and one for the supermarket, which I try to avoid like the Pest during the holidays.

Our refrigerator is not large enough to hold vegetables, milk, cream, cheese, and wine for an entire week (especially because of the quantities of cheese we I require), so we loaded up a cooler to put in the garage. Luckily it's just cold enough for that to work.

Our first unceremonious meal was Toast Hawaii - basically a glorified grilled cheese sandwich. Despite its name it's actually a German concoction of toast, ham, pineapple, and cheese. It's a nice alternative to frozen pizza and, like pizza, also produces no leftovers. This was key.

Toast Hawaii

On Saturday evening we made beef stir-fry with tenderloin and fresh vegetables. This is the only meal I make without a recipe - I just wing it and somehow it works. M did the meat to make sure it was done perfectly, and he also found some good ideas for the sauce, in which we used Wokgewürze from Ankerkraut. I'm notorious for making way too much stir-fry, but this year I judged well and we didn't have leftovers. We were still on track.

Beef stir-fry

Sunday evening was Christmas Eve. Our traditional meal is Raclette, which we think works well for a relaxing evening. Boiled potatoes, fresh mushrooms, ham, cheese...and lots of other snacks to nibble on while waiting for the cheese to melt. The meals are getting better...

Raclette - I'm somewhat embarrassed to say that this was not
too much for the two of us. The ham is sliced really thinly.

Raclette also yields no leftovers. We discovered a few years ago that Raclette cheese is good for nothing except Raclette (hence the name??). It's got a peculiar smell, which tends to permeate the contents of the fridge if not sealed well. Since there's no sense in keeping it for anything, we toss the leftovers. However, because of my careful notes from previous years, we order just the right amounts for the number of people at the table. Raclette, for us, is a perfect Heiligabend dinner.

Then things got weird.

Our plan for Christmas Day was Rehrücken mit Kräuter-Nusskruste, Rosenkohl, und Kartoffelgratin (Saddle of venison with an herb-nut crust, brussels sprouts, and potato-gratin). We had bought a frozen Rehrücken from Metro, and I had found the recipe in Lukullus, the little magazine I pick up from the local butcher each week. M was even willing to try the brussels sprouts, which I inexplicably love.

I did nearly nothing all day except read, M worked on a project he'd been saving for the holidays, I took a nap... At five o`clock we headed into the kitchen to get started on the meal, and discovered...the venison was supposed to have marinated for 3-4 hours. Oops. We scrambled, tossed around our options, and went with a different recipe for half of the meat that didn't require marinating. M also remembered an alternative recipe for brussels sprouts he had seen on our noon show, which looked much more tempting to him because it included bacon.

This recipe only uses the green outer leaves,
so we still had the rest to use for the original recipe the next day.

Although I'd had my heart set on the Kräuter-Nusskruste, this meal was delicious! We'd never made venison ourselves, but this recipe is a keeper. We had a few pieces left over, plus half of the potatoes and most of the brussels sprouts.

Our original plan for the second Day of Christmas was leftovers from Monday, but this turned out even better. We went back to the first recipe, marinated the meat all afternoon, and made the herb-nut-crust. M cooked the meat expertly yet again, and both of us liked this recipe even better than yesterday's. This is the photo you saw at the beginning of this post.

The meal we've settled on for the future is the brussels sprouts recipe from Monday, the potato-gratin, and the venison from Tuesday. Then it will be a perfect meal.

On Wednesday we really had leftovers - the rest of Tuesday's delectable venison, I finished off the sprouts, made fresh broccoli for M, thought about a salad, and we split the last two spoonfuls of potatoes. Almost nothing was wasted.

For Thursday I'd planned gefüllter Lammbraten (stuffed lamb roast), found in another Lukullus magazine. The beauty of not having guests for the holidays was that we could experiment with new recipes to potentially use in the future without worrying about something going wrong and guests going hungry and wishing they hadn't come. We usually make lamb stew, but we wanted to try something new. If it didn't work out, we could always have venison leftovers.

It turned out just fine and was very flavorful,
though less photogenic than the venison.

For Silvester we'll return to a favorite family tradition - fondue and "Dinner for One." I pick up the beef & pork tenderloin from the local butcher in the morning, M makes the fondue soup in the afternoon with roasted beef bones, soup meat, Suppengrün and one Nelke (clove), and while the soup is simmering he makes the Sahnedip. My daughter will be drooling by now...This cream dip is good for dipping vegetables in, spreading on a baguette, and dolloping on the cooked tenderloin. We used to do several dips, but now we don't bother with anything other than the Sahnedip.

This was a few years ago.
We'll only need two plates this year.

Fondue is a great meal for Silvester because it stretches out over a few hours, you're forced to eat slowly, clean-up isn't bad, and it's healthy. Healthy-ish.

We watch the British short comedy "Dinner for One" and giggle like fools every year, grumble about those who shoot off fireworks before midnight, go outside at midnight to toast with glasses of Kessler Sekt while watching the sanctioned fireworks (and M prowls around watching for burning missiles landing on our roof), and then we go to bed because we're too old to keep going.

On New Year's Day we eat the leftover soup with any remaining bits of tenderloin for lunch and have cheese and crackers for dinner.

And that was our meal plan for this holiday season. It's back to spaghetti, casserole, and frozen pizza for the first few days of the new year.

We hope you enjoyed your holiday food fest as much as we did, and we especially hope you had as little stress as we did! Even when something went wrong, we just found a way to deal with it. Easily done when you're only two people...

Lastly, we wish you a Happy New Year and a pleasant, happy, and above all peaceful 2018.

Swabian Traditions: Christbaum loben

"Welch ein schöner Christbaum!"

After five years in southern Germany, I believe I have learned about most of the customs, traditions, and events connected to the Advent and Christmas holidays. Sankt Nikolaus, Christmas markets, Glühwein, Adventskalender, Adventskränze, Heiligabend (Christmas Eve), Dreikönigstag (Epiphany), Weihnachtspyramiden, Räuchermänner and Weihrauch (incense), and "Dinner for One" on Silvester (New Year's Eve).

There's one Swabian tradition I haven't written about yet, though, and that is Christbaum loben - Christmas tree praising. M and I had the opportunity just last year, but now that I've learned more about it, I realize we botched it and need to try again!

Christbaum loben is something that Swabians do "zwischen den Jahren" - between the years, or between Christmas and Epiphany. Traditionally the Christmas tree goes up and is decorated on Christmas Eve, so this can't be done in the weeks before Christmas, as it could in Wisconsin where Christmas trees and decorations are often up the whole month of December.

Here's the procedure:

• Visit a friend's, neighbor's, colleague's, or acquaintance's home, even unannounced.*

               *Do not ever visit a Swabian's house unannounced at any other time during the year. Phone first.

• After being invited in, make your way toward the Christbaum.

Photo & tree credit: Heather (one of my students)
Used with permission

• Proceed with voluminous, enthusiastic, very un-German praise** of the Christbaum.
  **It does not actually matter if you like the tree or not; this is the one situation in Germany when sincerity and directness is tossed out the window. Even the negative qualities of the tree should be lavishly praised: "Look at that beautiful bald spot! Where there are no branches at all, it's so easy to grab hold of the trunk to move the tree! How convenient!"  "How ever did you get such a lovely stumpy tree to lean so far to the left?!"  "The wall color shows so nicely through the branches!"  "Look at that - the entire tree is decorated in only one color! And what a lovely shade of brown it is!"
  Praise the shape of the tree, the Schmuck (ornaments), the candles or lights, the Standort (location) stuffed into the corner between two sofas... Every conceivable trait.


• After every single guest has generously extolled the virtues of the Christbaum, the hosts bring out the reward. Act pleasantly surprised and over-pleased at this, even though it's obligatory: the Schnaps (or wine)! The hosts also offer Christmas cookies or Stollen, or leftover Christmas fruitcake that nobody wanted in the first place.


• After a dram and a nibble, it's time to make your way toward the door - not forgetting to throw a last bit of additional praise at the Christbaum as you pass - thank your hosts for their hospitality, and decide which house you'll visit next.


• Repeat at each subsequent home.

Sometimes with a Verein (club), the members will make an afternoon and evening of visiting each other member's home, or the hosting duties are rotated from year to year. They sometimes make a competition out of it, using actual score sheets to rate each tree on its size, symmetry (or lack thereof), Nadelfestigkeit (are the needles still strongly attached or are they starting to shed already?) straightness, decoration creativity, etc.

If, for any other reason, you happen to pop in to visit someone "between the years," you should be ready for "spontanes Loben" - spontaneous tree praise. Basically, whenever you find yourself near someone's Christbaum, praise it! It's enough to use the line with which I started this post: "What a lovely tree!" You may probably will get a Schlückchen (nip/dram) for your trouble, because Swabians always have a bottle of wine or Schnaps on hand.

What if you go visiting and your host doesn't have a tree? After all, some people don't bother if they're older or the kids aren't coming home anyway. No problem! There's a solution for that as well (Germans are great planners) - "Loben mit eigenem Baum" (praising your own tree). If you think you might face this potentially awkward situation, just bring your own! Most flower shops have small tabletop trees which fit in the back of your car - just bring it in and set it in the middle of the room for everyone to compliment! The host is still obliged to provide the Schnaps, and you can take your tree with you when you leave.

Swabians apparently started this tradition around the end of the 19th century. There are several theories as to why it developed, one being that Swabians don't have time during the year for social contact - because they're working all the time. Many people are off "between the years," so the Swabians get their socializing for the year accomplished then. It also makes for a good excuse to share a medicinal dram without feeling guilty. It's tradition!

We wish you and your  loved ones a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, 

and a good slide into the New Year!

Three Things: Holiday Edition

As often happens, I read a blog post on Confuzzledom that I want to do for myself! Bloggers borrow ideas and themes from each other all the time, and it's fun when others we read follow suit. So while M struggles putting up "the damn tree" and fighting with the string of lights that look like candles, I'll just hide here in the office writing another blog post. In a while I'll pop out to give him my assessment, but I'm always easier to please than he is. "Almost perfect" is good enough for me!

Three Things: the Holiday Edition

Three Things I love about Christmas

1. Weihnachtsmärkte / Christmas markets


2. Time off for M. As a teacher, I've always had 1+ weeks off over the Christmas holidays, but here in Germany even M gets to spend less time in the office. The European companies they work with are quiet as well since almost everyone is off for the holidays, but they have clients in other parts of the world who may require attention. At most, though, he only has to pop in for a few hours here and there, and we have more time together.


3. Bescherung / gift exchange. There are always gifts I either give or receive which are just fun. This year we'll be alone, but there are two gifts I can't wait for M to open! 

Three Things I dislike about Christmas

1. Santa songs. The absolute worst for me is "I saw Mommy kissing Santa" - Ugh! A few years ago I made two CDs of my favorite Christmas songs, and I really only listen to those. When listening to the radio or watching a Christmas show, I hit "mute" any time a Santa song comes on. I don't have anything against Santa - it's just songs about him that bug me. I like the traditional or classical Christmas songs.


2. White Elephant gift exchanges. This was funny the first two times, 30-some years ago. But I'm very glad to say I've never heard of this kind of party game going on here in Germany.


3. Any stress from: rushing, something not being done when it needs to be for dinner, driving in snow and ice to get to church or a relative's house, impatient or overtired kids... We don't have any of that here, but I do associate Christmas in Wisconsin with stress, which is a shame. 

Three Favorite Christmas Movies

1. the Holiday


2. Drei Haselnüsse für Aschenbrödel - totally kitschig (cheesy), but it's a family tradition


3. Joyeux Noel

Three Favorite Christmas Treats

1. Gebrannte Mandeln / roasted almonds


2. My family's green and red cookies. I've never seen anything like them anywhere else, and I don't know what they're made of or how to describe them.


3. Chocolate eaten guilt-free

Three Favorite Christmas Traditions

1. Putting up our Germerican Christmas decorations - my Dept. 56 Alpine Village scene, our Weihnachtspyramid from the Erzgebirge, our Advent wreath, and my nativity scene.


2. Watching Drei Haselnüsse für Aschenbrödel on Christmas Eve


3. Raclette on Christmas Eve

Three Favorite Christmas Songs

1. Christmas Pipes, by Celtic Woman


2. Breath of Heaven, by Amy Grant


3. Do You Hear What I Hear, by Regney & Baker*

*I just learned that this song was written in 1962 as a plea for peace during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Three Favorite Gifts Received

1. Buffy, my Sheltie


2. M - we got officially engaged on Christmas Eve


3. Books. All the books - books are always among my favorite gifts in any given year. Also this storybook my mom made for us, with text from a never-published blog post and photos she collected over the years and from my Schwiegermutter.

Three Gifts I want to give the World

1. Empathy and understanding, to see that we are all in this together.


2. Food, stable shelter, and healthcare for every person.


3. Inner peace and tranquility to weather the difficult times and revel in the joyous ones.

It's your turn! What will your "Three Things: Holiday Edition" look like?

Happy Holidays!!!

Schöne Festtage!

Seasons Greetings!

Frohes Fest! 

Happy Holidays!

Joyeuses Fêtes!

Genieß die Feiertage!

Those are all friendly greetings in German, English, and French to say to people in the weeks before and during the Christmas holidays. My personal favorite is "Schöne Festtage!"

But have you heard there's a so-called "war on Christmas"? That's what conservative radio and talk show hosts have been trying to get Americans to believe for about a decade, and our current chieftain has been championing that notion as well - before and throughout his campaign, and again this season.

Starbucks' scandalous 2017 holiday cup
photo credit: Dad

Their idea is that Christmas is under attack because "no one can say 'Merry Christmas' anymore" for fear of offending someone who doesn't celebrate Christmas. Starbucks had the audacity in 2015 to change their Christmas cups to holiday cups with a plain red background, and a shitstorm ensued. How dare they?!? The Obamas printed "Happy Holidays" on the annual cards they sent out, and didn't mention Christmas at all in their greeting! This put Bill O'Reilly in a tizzy every year.* "We need to bring back Christmas! The libs are trying to get rid of Christ!"

*I'm surely not the only person that finds it rather ironic that Bill O'Reilly got his knickers in a knot about people not saying "Merry Christmas". Champion of Christian values? Not so much, as it turns out...




That silliness makes me roll my eyes every year, in part because I have never met anyone personally who has acted offended by me saying "Merry Christmas." It's true I know a lot of Christians, but I also know some atheists/agnostics and have Muslim friends, none of whom seem offended by "Merry Christmas". In fact, my Muslim friends wish me a merry Christmas, when I say to them, "Enjoy the holidays"! Our Turkish butcher, who is Muslim, included "Wir wünschen allen unseren Kunden schöne und besinnliche Weihnachten und einen guten Rutsch ins neue Jahr" in his weekly ad in our local newspaper. ("We wish all our customers a merry and peaceful Christmas and a good slide into the New Year.")

It seems to me the "war on Christmas" crowd are making a whole lot of fuss about nothing. I have never been told I cannot say whichever holiday greeting I wish to use. The only people who are saying "You can't say 'Merry Christmas' anymore" are those who are claiming there's a war on Christmas. They are also the only ones I've heard who seem offended by a heart-felt holiday greeting, when it is not the specific greeting they want to hear. Hm.

The thing is, I say "Schöne Feiertage" or "Enjoy the holidays" to people during the holiday season because that's what I want to say. I say "Merry Christmas" on Christmas. And the only people I'm with on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day is are my family members. For the same reason I don't say "Happy Thanksgiving" in mid-November, I don't say "Merry Christmas" during Advent. 

I think Germans would find this notion of a "war on Christmas" ridiculous. It is perfectly normal in Germany to say "Schöne Festtage!", which translates to "[I wish you] happy holidays." They also say "Schöne Adventszeit!" to wish people a nice Advent. In the U.S. no one even hears about Advent unless one goes to church on a Sunday in the weeks before Christmas. In Germany we have Advent wreaths, Advent calendars, Advent markets, and we wish each other a Happy First, Second, Third, or Fourth Advent.

Happy Third Advent!

For those who want to talk about a war on Christmas, what about the fact that many stores in America are open on Christmas Day and all day on Christmas Eve? I won't mention Boxing Day, or der zweite Weihnachtstag, as it's called in German (Dec. 26) because that's never been an American thing as far as I know - but that's a holiday in Germany and all stores and businesses are closed. In Europe these are sacred days for family; in America they're an opportunity to make money - even to lure people in with holiday sales. If you've never been to an American store on Dec. 26, count yourself lucky. They have special lanes set up for people who want to return or exchange the gifts they received the day before (and they stay up until the rush to return unwanted gifts subsides, a few days to a week later). "After Christmas sales" are in full swing, and commercialism friendly customer service is the focus.

I read the other day that watching Fox News regularly increases by 5-10% the likelihood that a person will believe there's a "war on Christmas," but only about 31% of Americans have fallen for this. From the crowd noises at #45's televised rallies when he declares that he is bringing back Christmas, a good portion of them seem to be present and accounted for.

I'd like to say gently to anyone who might feel offended or annoyed by someone else saying, writing, or posting "Happy Holidays!": Perhaps that is simply the greeting the other person prefers. There's no need to get worked up about it. I'll use the greeting I prefer, you can use the greeting you prefer, and we can all go about our own holiday cheer.

I hope this last week before Christmas is enjoyable and peaceful for you, and not filled with too much stress. Some stress is natural near holidays, but hopefully joy and peace in your home will outweigh it. Would that peace throughout the world were possible as well - in all seasons. 

Frohe Festtage!

December Highs and Lows 2016

The year draws to a close today, whether we're ready for 2017 or not. A lot of people are saying that 2016 totally sucked, and on the world stage that is surely true. Personally, though, I had an unexpected and really good year. Life has been grand anyway, but it was in January 2016 that I started teaching and getting to know quite a few Syrians who settled in our area. I also started working for the first time since moving to Germany after three years of doing not much! Ok, I had kept myself busy in the garden, writing and reading, walking, and traveling, but I was not gainfully employed. Now I'm making my own money even though it's only part-time work, and my job (teaching German to non-Germans) is easy because I truly love it.

My blog has slowed down since I started teaching at the VHS, but there's a point when an expat has pretty much written about all there is to describe about life in another country. By now life here is normal, and very little strikes me as significant enough to write about. Perhaps it's time to change the theme of my blog.

I thought about doing a "Highlights of the Year" post, but that seems redundant and I don't want to bore my five readers. :-) Here, then, are the final Highs and Lows of 2016.

HIGHS

• having our neighbors over for drinks to thank them personally for letting us borrow a Stellplatz (parking spot) in their driveway while the construction was going on around our house. We had planned on parking at the office, which is only a 4-minute walk from home, but it was much more convenient to park next door and we were grateful. It was a really nice evening; we are lucky neighbors.


• starting individual riding lessons (every second Wednesday) because teaching makes me miss the Friday morning Damenreitstunde (ladies' riding lesson). Mallory continues to be sassy, but I like her anyway.


• joining M and several colleagues on an evening outing to the Weihnachtsmarkt in Esslingen. I only made it to two Weihnachtsmärkte this year! 

• Christmas Eve with M and my Schwiegermutter. We do enjoy quiet, stress-free holidays, and we spent the majority of Christmas day reading. We had raclette on Christmas Eve and lamb stew on Christmas Day.

• the holidays in general. M doesn't have to go to the office every day, and when he does it's just for a few hours. It's like a two-week-long weekend! We have lazy mornings and relaxed afternoons and don't do anything we don't want to do.


• dinner at Straub's Krone - twice, actually. 

Gruß von der Küche

Vorspeise: Ziegenkäse im Speckmantel

Schweinesteak in Pilzrahmsoße mit Gemüse und Dauphinkartoffeln

• Silvester - New Year's Eve - with M and his mum. It's only mid-day, but the soup for tonight's fondue is cooking, I picked up a fresh baguette this morning, made the salad for lunch, M will be making sausage rolls this afternoon, we'll enjoy a long, drawn-out fondue dinner with pork and beef tenderloin, watch "Dinner for One", play a trivia game, and wait for the neighborhood fireworks at midnight. I look forward to this night every year!

LOWS

• realizing I have only read (finished) 21 books this year. Dismal.


• having to cancel a riding lesson last week - and M was going to come along to take pictures of me riding Mallory! - because of a night of stomach cramps. I had been so looking forward to that! Arg!


• this Swabian housewife fail:

I tried to make Brioche buns for pulled pork sandwiches (M did the pulled pork, which cooked for 48 hours in the sous vide machine). The above photo shows Fail #1, Fail #2, and the buns we ended up using for the sandwiches. Humiliating. I need someone to teach me how to bake with yeast.

I hope 2017 is a better year for the world than 2016 was. 

and I wish you, dear Reader, a graceful start into the New Year!

Just Another Dirty Thursday

I could have saved my "Here we go again" title for today. It's Schmotziger Donnerstag, or, as I like to call it, "Dirty Thursday". Die Narren sind los - The nuts are loose.

This is the height of Fasching/Fasnet/Fastnacht/Karnival - there are many names for this madness, and I'm sure it's a lot of fun if you're into it.

I thought I should let my students know a little bit about what goes on around here today, on the weekend, and early next week, so I wrote up a "reading comprehension exercise" explaining it roughly - enough so they won't wonder when, while walking to the Bahnhof or bus stop, they'll see a grown man dressed up like zebra - for instance.

Some costumes have a story and old tradition, like these Blockstrecker in Bildechingen.
Those are the ones I find interesting!

We will not have class on Monday because there's a big Umzug (parade) in Horb, and apparently the Narren (fools) can demand a Wegzoll (passage tax) from people trying to pass through town - €2 or €3 for "safe passage through Horb". I would have a serious problem with that, and I can imagine the Flüchtlinge wouldn't appreciate that either, just for trying to get to school to learn German. So the director said we are closed that day - and the doors are bolted shut.

I ended my explanation of the craziness of the next five days with "Ich bleibe lieber zu Hause und lese ein gutes Buch!" (I prefer to stay at home and read a good book!) Several of my students said they think they'll stay home, too, where they'll feel safer. I did tell them when the parades are in each of the towns where they're living, though, in case they want to check them out.

Umzug in Eutingen
source

While waiting for the bus after class (there was no way I was parking our car in town today), groups of Narren dressed in all kinds of crazy costumes crossed the strees at will, stopping traffic - including a bus - while they stumbled across to the other side. I was really pleased to see the number of groups who were dropped off by taxi - rather than driving themselves.

One thing I saw yesterday really bothered me. While standing at the crosswalk waiting for the little Ampelmännchen to turn green, I saw a mother (or grandmother) on the other side standing with a boy who was probably about 8 years old - maybe 10. He had a toy pistol and was aiming and shooting it at every car that drove past. When the Ampelmännchen turned green, the boy "shot" at those of us who were crossing the street towards him. The mother never said a word to him - apparently she didn't find anything wrong with a child pointing a gun at people and shooting them. I find that highly inappropriate - even with a toy gun.

I cannot for the life of me figure out why stores in Germany sell toy guns during Fasching, when most Germans agree that guns are not something people (who are not hunters or sport-shooters) should have.

Fasching is just not my thing, but I know people who really enjoy it. I am very interested in the history of it - for instance that it began in pagan times as a crazy celebration to chase away the demons of winter, and that the Catholics took it on as a way to celebrate like maniacs before the somber and repentant weeks of Lent.

Anyway, Feiert schön, und bleibt sauber!  (Enjoy the celebration, and stay clean!)

Dreikönigstag 20*C+M+B+16

For long-time readers, this is an old post slightly edited and updated for this year with new photos taken moments ago.

Today is Dreikönigstag, Epiphany, which signals the end of the Christmas holidays here in Germany. Tomorrow regular work resumes for those who didn't already have to be back earlier this week, though classes don't resume in Baden-Württemberg schools until Monday.  In the States, school and work resumed on Jan. 4th - as soon after New Year's Day as possible.

On Dreikönigstag here in southern Germany, groups of children called Sternsinger go from house to house dressed in kingly costumes and carrying a lighted star. They sing a song, recite a poem about the three kings, write a blessing on the door frame, and collect a donation for a charity.  People they visit may also give them a treat - some chocolate, candy, etc. - to give them energy to carry on through the day. In our little village several groups of children are deployed with their adult chaperones to every house. Most people are home to greet them because today is a stiller Feiertag (holiday) in Baden-Württemberg.

This year's group was adorable! They sang very well and had their lines memorized, and they seemed to appreciate our donation and the nibblies.

The blessing they write on the door frame is (this year) 20*C+M+B+16.  Each piece of the blessing has a meaning.

    20...16 is the current year.
    The * represents the Star of Bethlehem.
    C M B stands for Christus Mansionem Benedicat** ("Christ Bless this House" in Latin)
    The three crosses represent the trinity.

**It is a common misconception that the C M B stands for the initials of the names of the three kings, which coincidentally are Casper, Melchior, and Balthazar.

The blessing stays on the door until the next Dreikönigstag, when the entire blessing is wiped off and rewritten for the new year.

I truly love this tradition, and I got giddy when I heard their footsteps on the front porch! It brings closure to the Christmas season in a really nice way. If I could send one holiday tradition to America, I'd send this one.

After the Sternsinger leave, it's time to take down Christmas. The decorations go back into their boxes, the tree branches get cut off and placed over garden plants to protect them against the cold, the tree trunk gets chopped up and put in the garage to use for firewood in 2 years when it's dry (because nothing gets wasted or thrown out in Swabia!), and the nativity scene gets packed away until next December. This year we're actually going to wait a bit; our neighbors told us just the other day and my Schwiegermutter confirmed it that the Catholic tradition is to wait until Mariä Lichtmess (Candlemas - February 2nd) to take down Christmas!

It was a lovely Advent and Christmas season, and I am always a little sad to pack up the decorations. I so enjoy the lights on the outside of the house, our lighted Christmas star and tree, and the general cheer of Christmas decorations.

I've enjoyed reading other bloggers' end-of-year and/or New Year's posts, and although I probably won't write one of those since I'm too much a realist for resolutions or personal goals, I should be able to come up with something interesting to write about in the next few weeks.

Loving Southern Germany 4: The Holidays

As I have written before, southern Germany has been historically predominantly Catholic. Although I don't know a lot of Germans who regularly attend church, Christianity is deeply imbedded in the culture and way of life here. Every town I know of still holds its Catholic or Protestant identity, and the locals know which towns are which. Eutingen is Catholic. Mühlen, 3 km away, is Protestant. Freudenstadt is Protestant as is Esslingen. Horb is Catholic.

This does not mean that Catholics are not welcome in Protestant towns - just that, in most cases, during the Reformation and especially the 30 Years' War (1618-1648), it was decided through battles, bribes, or the citizens' preference which religion the town would support.

The point of this post is not a lesson in religious history, however. The importance of the fact that southern Germany is more Catholic than Protestant is that we have, in Baden-Württemberg, more public holidays connected to religion than the poor saps in the north. Up there my birthday is not a holiday, but in the south it is. Ok, it's not a holiday because it's my birthday, but because it's Allerheiligen (All Saints' Day). There's at least one other holiday here that they don't have up north, but I keep forgetting which one that is. Fronleichnam (Corpus Christi), perhaps. Most schools around us also have a week off during the nuttiness of Fasnet/Fasching, which is unusual north of Köln. Oh, and of course Dreikönigstag is not a holiday up there either!

Schmotziger Donnerstag, or Dirty Thursday

The way the southern Germans do holidays is something I truly appreciate, and it is very different from the way Americans do holidays. This is one of the many reasons I love living in southern Germany.

die Sternsinger on Epiphany

Right now in the U.S., Christmas is over. School resumes tomorrow, and it would have started yesterday - on January 2nd - if it hadn't been a Saturday. On December 26th I saw quite a few Facebook posts beginning with "Now that Christmas is over..."  Here in Germany December 26th is the second day of Christmas, and it's a holiday. Remember that holidays here mean all stores - including grocery stores - are closed. Christmas isn't "over" in southern Germany until the day after Dreikönigstag (Epiphany), which is January 6th. This year the powers that be in Baden-Württemberg decided not to send kids back to school on a Thursday, so classes resume on January 11th.


Later in the year both Easter Sunday and Easter Monday are holy days and again, everything is closed. Altogether we have 12 holidays during the year when businesses and stores are closed (only three of those are non-religious), though I guess Easter Sunday doesn't have to count because stores and businesses are always closed on Sundays.

I don't know of a single day during the year when stores are closed all day in the U.S.. Holidays are a time to draw people into the stores for at least a few hours with holiday sales. It would certainly convenient to have grocery stores open in the morning of Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve and Day, but we manage just fine by carefully planning ahead.

On Silvester (New Year's Eve) there are several fun traditions, and the night ends with fireworks at midnight. Some cities have professional displays, but many people buy little ones in the day or two before Silvester and shoot them off from home. We don't spend money on such things, but we go outside at midnight and watch the neighborhood show with a glass of Sekt and sparklers.

Bleigießen - melting chunks of lead and dropping it into cold water.
It solidifies into a shape that should look like something. 
While all three of mine looked like sperms, I'm going to call them arrows.

My Schwiegermutter asked me this year if there are any New Year's Eve traditions in America, but I couldn't come up with anything except watching the ball drop in Times Square on TV. Friends or family get together for a party and usually lots of drinking and couples kiss at midnight, but that's it as far as I know. It's fun, and there's nothing wrong with the way Americans celebrate New Year's. The important thing is being together with loved ones and ringing in the New Year.

This was yet another long-winded post intended to say that another reason I love living in southern Germany is that holidays are truly holy days and even M doesn't have to be in the office as early or as long as usual. His employees don't return until Thursday this week (the day after Epiphany), and many other German companies operate with a skeleton crew between Christmas Eve and Epiphany. Even for those who are back to work normally as of January 2nd, Epiphany is a holiday.

Anyway, holidays are great - quiet, relaxing, enjoyable - in southern Germany. And that is the fourth reason I love living here.


Loving Southern Germany 1: Beautfiful Towns
Loving Southern Germany 2: The Landscape
Loving Southern Germany 3: The Food