Frohe Weihnachten (Susan Ault)

When I was a little girl, we lived in a small town in Bavaria, southern Germany, with my twin sister and an older sister.  We would celebrate St. Nicholas (Santa Claus) on the 6th of December.  It was a special day for us.  That was when St. Nicholas came to the house with bells ringing and switches.  We would say a prayer and tell him if we were good or bad before we got any presents.  I was always good.  Kids had a fear of the switch if they were naughty.

 On Christmas Eve, my dad would go to the market and buy a Christmas tree to put up and decorate in the afternoon, along with my mom.  We children were not allowed to be in the house to see what was going on.  So we played outside until Dad called us in the house.  When we came back inside, there was a beautiful Christmas tree standing in the living room with candles burning on the tree with lots of tinsel and ornaments hanging down. We were amazed because under the tree there were a few presents for us.  First we ate dinner.  It was always breaded fish with potatoes and vegetables.  After the dishes were done we opened presents.  Since Santa came on December 6th, we honored and celebrated the birth of Jesus on Christmas Eve.  We also sang Christmas songs.  My mom sewed  little dresses for our dolls.  We were very excited and happy to receive a gift.  Mom baked Christmas cookies a few days ahead and she served them on Christmas Eve.
 
On Christmas Day, we always had a goose for dinner.  Many towns have Christmas markets with hot spiced wine and a gingerbread called Lebkuchen, with lots of ornaments and Christmas items to sell.  Many things were homemade by local people.  People came from far away to visit the markets.  Through the years, Germany has taken on a lot of American traditions.  Some decorate their house with greenery and lights.  I have lots of good memories of my Christmases in Germany.