What Will Christmas Be Like, He Wonders?
In Germany we don’t have Thanskgiving, but we have something that’s almost like this. It is called St. Martin’s Day.
The story of St. Martin tells about giving to the poor. It takes place in the Middle Ages and says that while on his ride home, Martin, who was a knight, saw a poor man freezing and sitting in the snow. He stopped and divided his large, red, warm blanket in two equal pieces with his sword, and gave one to the beggar.
To honor him and his great heart, all children in our elementary schools make lanterns. Then on St. Martin’s Day, which is celebrated at this time of year, there’s a parade. All the children go with their lanterns through the town and sing the St. Martin’s songs. The procession looks very beautiful because the days get shorter and it’s already dark.
The walk finishes at the castle in our town. There’s a big fire and actors play out the story of St. Martin. After that, the children go from house to house, almost like Halloween, and sing their songs. As a reward, they get candy.
So, actually, it’s the same idea as Thanksgiving only that a knight helped a beggar and helped him to survive the winter, like the Indians did with the first Pilgrims.
I’m curious about Christmas here. Will it really look like it does in the movies, with Christmas lights on every roof and hokey Santa Claus figures?
In Germany, I think, it’s more of a humorous traditional Christmas that borders on hokey. You can compare our towns during Christmas with big malls.
Our towns are not so spread out. And shops are not in malls, but out on a street or in a pedestrian zone. And so the streets, that means almost the whole towns, are decorated.
We have small Christmas markets with Christmas shops, food-huts and Christmas songs all over.
So there’s a totally different atmosphere as opposed to when Americans go into one of the thousands of similar-looking malls.
In every city, even the small Christmas markets are different. That’s probably the thing I will miss at Christmas.
There’s no personality in the city, because it’s all spread out. It appears that everyone is for himself, that there’s anonymity because of the distances between each other.
Still, it will be an unforgettable Christmas. I’m staying with a very lovely family, the Dorwins. And a family is the most important thing in the meaning of Christmas, no matter where you are.
xxxx MEET BERND Bernd Himperich, 16, “has a fantastic sense of humor and he fits right into the family,” said Marcia Dorwin, his host mother. Bernd’s host family also includes father Tim Dorwin, Jake, 8, and Megan, 5. He’s been busy with cross-country at West Valley High this fall. At home in Germany, he’s active in Boy Scouts.