It is December, 1st. Yeah! The anticipation of christmas has officially begun. As a German I’m still having trouble waiting that long, because I like this time of the year so much. Living in Germany, the season for me started right after my birthday mid-November, after Sankt Martin was over and shortly before the Weihnachtsmarkt opens its gates on November, 23rd.
But here. There is. Thanksgiving. Turkey Day. So you have to wait until everyone has brined, smoked, cooked, grilled, baked or even deep-fried their turkey on the last Thursday in November before you can “legally” decorate for christmas the following day. In fact, that’s actually what a lot of Americans do on Black Friday, if they’re not joining the shopping madness at the malls, they’re going to get their Christmas tree. If they don’t do it on Friday, they’re getting it at least the weekend after Thanksgiving. The custom of getting a christmas tree and setting it up early is something I really appreciate here in the US. I grew up putting up the tree on the morning of Christmas’ Eve. My dad usually got mad when the tree didn’t cooperate in staying up straight in the tree stand, and my sister and I fought about who gets to put up the “Lametta” on the tree. We didn’t have different kinds of ornaments every year, we always decorated the tree with the same kind of straw and wooden ornaments and everything we made ourselves. And we had real candles! But I always thought that it is kind of sad to have the tree only for this short amount of time, because once christmas is over, the tree is not that interesting anymore, at least not for us kids. My parents always wanted to get rid of it as soon as possible. Most Germans tend to keep it until January, 6th though, the day of the Heiligen Drei Könige. Anyway, I now absolutely enjoy having a tree early, because it adds to the atmosphere and boosts up the anticipation, especially for our girls.
And the first day of this last month of the year marks the beginning of this exciting time for them. That’s why they start asking about the Adventskalender right shortly after Turkey Day. They get 24 little presents, often sweets, but also small knick-knacks like pencils, small toy figures, stickers, washi tape, erasers and so on. German parents like to put a lot of effort and time into those special calendars, probably because they still have fond memories of their own childhood Adventskalender. When we haven’t had kids but already lived together, my husband and I even used to have a couple’s Adventskalender. For every other day of the 24 days before christmas you had to prepare a little surprise present or a coupon for a nice dinner or one night of not doing the dishes.
When you peruse the internet for Adventskalender, you will find tons of different ideas for home-made Adventskalender. We have had the same calendar for our girls quite some years now, but this year I decided to go crazy and make a new one. I’m lucky enough that my super-crafty mom has provided us with different sets of 24 little bags over time, some even with crossed-stitched numbers on them. When I was looking for ideas, I also found this calendar on Pinterest and I loved the idea, because this should be a time of giving and of spreading kindness: The Random Acts of Christmas Kindness 2015. This Adventskalender lists 24 things you can do for others, like writing a card for someone, calling a relative, bringing your teacher a coffee or leaving a bag of popcorn at a DVD rental machine. We will try to follow this calendar this year, and even though we might not always exactly stick to it, or mix up the days, I think it’s a great way to show kids that this time of the year is not only about getting, but also about giving and that these acts of kindness will not only be a delight for the receiver but also for themselves. Today we brought a poinsettia to our awesome neighbor.
