Hello, and a warm welcome back for the new year! As I haven't yet reported on my Christmas vacation, I'll take this opportunity to look back at the previous two weeks before I start afresh with 2017 news. To begin, we need to travel back in time to Christmas Eve....
Dec. 24th: Heilig Abend, the Big Day in Germany (and our first day of winter holidays). Having been invited to help alter serve at the midnight mass at the Catholic Church by my friend Kea, I spent part of the morning at a practive for the servers. While parceling the duties out among 15 servers made light work for us all, it took a bit of coordination to figure out how to fit us (plus the choir) on and around such a small alter. I there recieved an early Christmas present - a book with a collection of German Christmas songs compiled by Kea. How thoughtful! When I returned home, the tree was set up and decorated (most notably with real wax candles in metal brackets), forming a cheery presence in the livingroom. Gifts slowly began to pile up underneath the boughs - it seems I wasn't the only one doing some last-minute wrapping. At 3:00 we headed off to the Anglican church for the youth Christmas mass, where Marta performed a skit with other members of her Confirmation class. After coming home, we had little time to wait; as the sun went down, the children were sent upstairs to our rooms so the Christkind (not Santa Claus (Der Weihnachtsmann) or Sankt Nikolaus) could come. Justus was very anxious to go back downstairs, so Emils and I barricaded him in my room and attempted to entertain him until we were called down. In the dark living room, the warm smell of melting candles filled the air and the tree glowed with dozens of tiny flames. The small pile of presents had significantly grown and been sorted into piles according to the person they were addressed to. We gathered around and took turns choosing presents for the others to open. I was suprised and touched to recieve presents from the Latvian grandparents and Signe's sister in America, as well as very generous and sweet gifts from Signe, Manfred, Marta, and Emils. It was a magical evening - Justus' huge enthusiasm for each new Playmobile set (which he insisted on opening and had to be reminded to keep opening new presents instead of setting them up on the spot) was a delight to witness. For supper, we had Raclettes - a very fun meal where each person assembles their own combination of veggies, meat, and cheese in a tiny pan and grills their creations on a special Raclette grill. The late evening was spent skyping with Signe's family and Emma - sending our Christmas wishes around the globe. Eventually, I headed off into the night to attend the church service and despite the heaviness of the candles, managed not to drop mine, trip over my robes, or otherwise mess up the service. The songs, incence, and community spirit was very peaceful and I felt truly wrapped in Christmas spirit. After arriving home, I hurried to bed - as you're soon to read, the next day was an early one. Dec. 25th: The first day of Christmas started at 6:15 for Manfred, Marta and I. We groggily headed out, braving the dark early morning streets to make it to the 7:00 mass at the Anglican church. The service was short but festive, and the lightness of the sky when we emerged from the church was a friendly welcome to begin the day. We spent a wonderful, lazy day at home, making use of our presents - ie. reading, watching movies, and playing board games. I suppose that I should speak for myself when I use the word "lazy", as Signe was busy all morning preparing a delicious Christmas feast. It consisted of German and Latvian specialties: a roasted duck (even tastier then the goose, in my humble opinion) with apple stuffing and potatoes (Deutsch), as well as latvian red beet salad and special black peas that resembled roasted haselnuts (and tasted creamy and nutty), accompanied by kefir, a sour yogurt drink. In the evening, we got everything packed and ready for our trip up north the next day. Dec. 26th: The second day of Christmas (and also the last, unfortunately). We spent this day driving first to Bremerhaven to meet Manfred's mother, sister, and uncle for Christmas lunch (aboard a ship-turned-restaurant docked in the harbour) and from there to Manfred's mother's house in Oldendorf. After coffee and cake at Oma's, we had the second round of gift-unwrapping, and Marta was very pleased to finally recieve a much-wished-for punching bag for her Tai Kwon Do practice. After a late evening catching up and playing more games, we split up - Manfred, Signe, Justus and I heading to the cottage where we would be staying while the others overnighted at Oma's. Dec. 27th-29th: With Christmas officially over, we took the opportunity to do some exploring around Northern Germany. One day was spent touring Bremen and seeing the sights - including a bronze statue of the Bremen State Musicians (a group of animals from a popular fairy tale who had great plans to go to the free state of Bremen (in order to escape the common fate of run-down farm animals) and live as sought-after state musicians, but never actually made it there), the funky, upscale artist's quarter, and the Schnoor Viertel, a medieval quarter with impossible narrow streets and charming, colorful buildings. The next day trip was made to Bremerhaven, to visit the Emigration/Immigration Museum (at my request - I had read about it in my history textbook at school and was so happy to be able to go (it did not disappoint! We spent four hours there and could have stayed longer)) and sample fresh, crispy battered fish at a fried-fish canteen/restaurant with huge portions, tacky vinyl tablecloths, and nautical decorations in every nook and cranny (basically a must-do in any port city, regardless of the country). Then, we had one more day to spend with Oma and Aunt Annette in Oldendorf before we drove back home - I believe I slept the majority of the way back! Dec. 31st: Silvester! The much-awaited Rutsch (slip) into the new year, and the last of the mysterious seasonal German holidays that I had been waiting to experience. The celebration began in the early evening, as guests began to arrive at our house laden with potluck dishes and crates of fireworks. The other kids and I played a variety of games (including several rounds of tag outside at 10:00 - chilly and dark, but exhilarating) until 11:20, when the boys insisted we go back outside to set off the Kinder fireworks (yes, such things exist!). These little fire-spewing/exploding/spinning/popping delights occupied us until shortly before 12:00, when the serious fireworks began to be set off throughout the neightbourhood. By midnight, when our group of adults came outside with sparkling wine, hugs, and good wishes for the new year, the night had come alive, exploding with color and sound. We soon added our collection of fireworks to the rest, and I watched, captivated, as the columns of fire shot upwards from driveways all around us, smoke drifted through the air, and sparks rained down from the sky. It was like another dimension had been added to the night - a little frightening (the power of the fireworks was impressive and I fervently hoped that they would all shoot out in the right direction) but also magical. After the explosions began to subside and our fingers grew too stiff to hold our wine glasses, we headed back inside for hot soup and dessert. I went to bed earlier then the rest (around 2:00), and spent my first morning of 2017 absolutely dead to the world. The last week of the holidays was not spent dutifully studying German/math, as I had imagined (thank goodness ;) ). Instead, I was busy each day, taking advantage of the one day of snow to make snowmen and shovel the driveway (the funny things you miss from home!), traveling to Düsseldorf, Dorsten, and Cologne to meet with exchange friends, going to a birthday party with school friends, going swimming, and having a Canadian pancake breakfast with Kea. Another fun-filled week! Part of yesterday was spent in Wuppertal watching Emils' handball tournament, which was also lovely. After a week of school, I begin my three week practicum in the Velbert soup kitchen. I'm very excited about this opportunity to learn about a different aspect of German society and the social support system. So, all caught up! I hope that you all had wonderful holidays and I congratulate you for making it this far in my extremely long post. Wishing you good health and happiness in the new year :) Liebe Grüße, Sylvia
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