In Germany, it's Christmas Eve, not Christmas Day, that holds all the excitement....

[Barbella]

at least for the kids. At least it did when I was a kid....not sure if it's changed since then.

Back then, it wasn't Santa Clause who brought the presents...it was the "Christkindl". I vividly remember being locked out of the living room on Christmas Eve while the Christkindl did it's labor of love....he flew in through the open window, you see....and put the presents under the tree. When he was done, he rang his silver bell and flew back out....and we kids were allowed to come in, just in time for my mother to close the window....LOL

The candles were lit on the tree (real ones, how we didn't burn the house down I'll never know, LOL), and there were sparklers attached to the branches, also furiously sparkling away...it was beautiful. We all gathered around the tree and sang "Silent Night" (in German, of course)....and then we were allowed to open our presents.

Chestnuts really WERE roasting on the fire, and "Gluhwein" was served to all who wanted it....even the kids. Christmas was great at our house, even if the presents were definitely NOT as abundant as they are nowadays...heck, we thought SOCKS were a good present to get.....:-D

Glühwein (roughly, "glow-wine," from the hot irons once used for mulling) is popular in German speaking countries and in the region of Alsace in France. It is a traditional beverage that is offered during the Christmas holidays. The oldest documented Glühwein tankard is attributed to Count John IV of Katzenelnbogen, a German nobleman who was the first grower of Riesling grapes. This gold-plated lockable silver tankard is dated at about 1420.

Glühwein is usually prepared from red wine, heated and spiced with cinnamon sticks, cloves, star aniseed, citrus, sugar and at times vanilla pods. It is sometimes drunk mit Schuss (with a shot), which means that rum or some other liquor has been added

 

[MaryAnne]

Sounds good,B arb!

Merry Christmas!! That is when we have it, too. I think that evolved because the kids could not wait for Christmas Morning)

 

[fairsheet]

When I was a kid, Christmas Eve was a big deal because that's when we'd put up the Christmas tree. All our friends already had theirs up by then. My Dad would put the lights on and we'd hang all the homemade decorations. With 6 kids, there were a lot of them. Then "Santa" would decorate the tree with the store-bought decorations, when he delivered the presents overnight.

Our parents must have been exhausted by the time we woke them at 7AM (on the dot)! Nevertheless - once the presents were opened, it was always off to Mass - even that year when it snowed 18" overnight. My Dad wasn't in the best of health later on. I don't know how the hell he did it. And I've gotta confess that at that age, it never occurred to me to even care......

 

[Barbella]

Thanks, Mary Anne...same to you!