Holidays in Germany
Though I am not fortunate enough to have had a host family for the past 3 months, I am fortunate to have a friend with a wonderfully welcoming host family. They invited me into their home for Christmas, and my future host family (more on that in another post) invited me over to spend New Year's with them.
It was so, so nice to spend the holidays among a family. It might not have been my own, but it made me feel a lot less isolated. I really can't overemphasize how friendly most of the Germans that I've met have been. I mean, these people invited me into their home to spend the 3 days of Christmas (Christmas eve, Christmas day, Boxing day) with them without any hesitation. They even got me some amazing gifts:
Also important: they fed me. No, they overfed me. No, they fed me, and I overate. No regrets!
One of the things I learned about the holiday season in Germany is that families generally eat specific types of meals on specific holidays. For example, for Christmas eve dinner, we had meat fondue, and I was told that most German families do the same. Likewise, we had Raclette for New Year's eve. For Germans, novelty ways of preparing food and the holidays go together like bread and butter. And cheese. So much cheese.
Other than the interesting food choices, there weren't really a lot of new holiday traditions. It's pretty much what I was used to: eating all day, watching movies, hanging out, opening presents. New Year's was the same (minus the presents), but instead of watching the fireworks on TV, we just looked out across the backyard as hundreds of people set off their own fireworks in the street.
This nonchalant attitude about home firework usage confused me: Americans have a reputation for being bombastic and loud and gun-toting and firework-firing, but never, never have I seen so many people setting off fireworks in the street like it's no big deal. People had been setting off fireworks in the street for the entire week leading up to New Year's, but then went crazy with it as soon as the countdown to the new year ended. My inner Smokey the Bear was very uncomfortable the entire time.
Regardless of the immense fire hazard, I really enjoyed the holidays. I know I'm incredibly lucky--lots of exchange students feel especially homesick during that time of year. Thanks to some really kind people, though, I felt right at home.
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| Christmas eve Kaffee und Kuchen. |
It was so, so nice to spend the holidays among a family. It might not have been my own, but it made me feel a lot less isolated. I really can't overemphasize how friendly most of the Germans that I've met have been. I mean, these people invited me into their home to spend the 3 days of Christmas (Christmas eve, Christmas day, Boxing day) with them without any hesitation. They even got me some amazing gifts:
 |
| The bear's name is Fritz. |
Also important: they fed me. No, they overfed me. No, they fed me, and I overate. No regrets!
One of the things I learned about the holiday season in Germany is that families generally eat specific types of meals on specific holidays. For example, for Christmas eve dinner, we had meat fondue, and I was told that most German families do the same. Likewise, we had Raclette for New Year's eve. For Germans, novelty ways of preparing food and the holidays go together like bread and butter. And cheese. So much cheese.
 |
| Please ignore my pained expression. That's just what I look like when I try to smile. |
Other than the interesting food choices, there weren't really a lot of new holiday traditions. It's pretty much what I was used to: eating all day, watching movies, hanging out, opening presents. New Year's was the same (minus the presents), but instead of watching the fireworks on TV, we just looked out across the backyard as hundreds of people set off their own fireworks in the street.
This nonchalant attitude about home firework usage confused me: Americans have a reputation for being bombastic and loud and gun-toting and firework-firing, but never, never have I seen so many people setting off fireworks in the street like it's no big deal. People had been setting off fireworks in the street for the entire week leading up to New Year's, but then went crazy with it as soon as the countdown to the new year ended. My inner Smokey the Bear was very uncomfortable the entire time.
Regardless of the immense fire hazard, I really enjoyed the holidays. I know I'm incredibly lucky--lots of exchange students feel especially homesick during that time of year. Thanks to some really kind people, though, I felt right at home.
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