Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We did, with the help of our American friends and some good planning. We were able to have all the usual items we normally do for our family tradition. And celebrating it with friends made it very special. Obviously the people here were not celebrating this holiday with us; however, there was indeed an excitement to the air. In this very religiously traditional section of Germany, the beginning of Advent started this past weekend. Advent here is a very big deal. Unlike the states where our own Lutheran traditions introduced me to this somber, and sometimes per the music, haunting time of the year, Germans take this time to have a month long party. Starting this past weekend, many celebrations and parades took place. Also, in
Kempten, our
Weihnachtsmarkt opened. Thus the question of "What is a
Weihnachtsmarkt ?" This is when the downtown area gets all dressed up, and a gazillion little tents and huts (
ok - not a gazillion, but more than 70!!) fill the usual walking space in the pedestrian area. Each hut has a different set of items for sale. Some sell the beautiful little handmade wooden items found here. Others sell clothing or winter wear. Still others sell candles, or food items either to eat on the spot or to give as gifts. And finally there is the
Lebkuchen and
Glüwein.
Glüwein is a drink of hot, mulled wine that every German I have met longs for. I have tried it. It is not my thing.
Fortunately, they also sell
Kinderpunsch, a non-alcoholic drink for children.
Lebkuchen is a German gingerbread cake/cookie. I use both to describe it as it is a very short, small cake or a very thick cookie. Again, it is not like the gingerbread I am used to, so it is not my thing - a little bitter with the spices and an orange aftertaste. But many, many people love it and rave about it.
I have a picture today of the downtown area and the
Weihnachtsmarkt from our city's
webcam that is focused on the pedestrian
zone
. It is snowing now, mixing with rain, so it is not a nice day to get out and experience the market, but come lunch time when the merchants throw open their tent flaps and the little huts open their shutters, people will be crowding around as they celebrate each of their lunches between now and Christmas (and sometimes also their dinners - it goes until 8 PM each evening) with a little hut and tent browsing,
Lebkuchen, and
Glüwein. So to you I raise my glass (of punch only) and say "Here's to Advent!"
The word for the day is Christmas market:
der Weihnachtsmarkt (vi
nachts markt where the "i" in "vi" sounds like high and the ch of
nachts is that cat coughing.) Christmas is
das Weihnachten. It means "the peaceful night".
The question for the day is "What is a
Klausen, and what is a
Krampus?"
Auf Weidersehen,
Frau
Spitzer
. It is snowing now, mixing with rain, so it is not a nice day to get out and experience the market, but come lunch time when the merchants throw open their tent flaps and the little huts open their shutters, people will be crowding around as they celebrate each of their lunches between now and Christmas (and sometimes also their dinners - it goes until 8 PM each evening) with a little hut and tent browsing, Lebkuchen, and Glüwein. So to you I raise my glass (of punch only) and say "Here's to Advent!"