i am still recovering from the fact that it snowed in kc before we got anything here, but nonetheless, christmas is in full germanic swing here. christkindkmarkts, gluewein (mulled spiced hot wine), roasted chestnuts, and carolers are abundant. the other day in the coffeshop, i was surprised to realize that the reason i was so elated was the american christmas music on the radio. aparantly, we americans kicked out some seriously good christmas music so they didn't feel the need to make their own. i am not sure how to feel about that. on one hand, maybe german traditional christmas music would be nice and unique, on the other there is nothing like bing crosby to make you feel all warm and cozy and nostalgic inside.
here they celebrate christmas on the 24th with a dinner, presents, and maybe even a church service. the houses are all decorated, similar to the states, but less clark griswold-esque... their trees are much more natural and some even put real candles on their trees (just on christmas day when they are all home)! i have heard of some pickle game where a pickle is hidden in the tree and whoever finds it gets a special gift?... don't really know about that one... my personal fav is the random santas. i guess santa can't get down the non-existent chimneys, so he climbs into windows. a little scary/amusing. see for yourself:
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