2011

I hope everyone had a fantastic winter holiday break and that 2011 starts off well.  I've had amazing luck with bringing snow!  (During my semester in Washington, DC last year, we had a historic record of more than 4'6'' of snow!  There were no legislative duties for work throughout Capitol Hill, and there was no school.)  We've had the most amount of snow in Hilden in ages...over 40 centimeters (more than 16 inches)!

On December 6th, the Germans celebrate Saint Nicholas Day, which is where children place their boots on the porch overnight, and hopefully in the morning there's candy inside.  This is usually an indication if kids need to shape up in the next couple of weeks before Christmas Eve.  Fortunately, I was on the "nice" list this year.

Christmas Eve was spent with my immediate family and I.  We went to mass, had fondue for dinner, and Christkind came!  Instead of Santa Claus, they have Christkind (baby Jesus).  Christmas was spent with all my other family members.  In general, Christmas is the largest traditional holiday in Germany among Christians and society; however it isn't nearly as commercialized here like it is in the USA.

As for New Year's, we also hosted a big party on New Year's Eve and did fireworks.  (The animals below were on a farm where we went sledding.  The Coca-Cola truck comes once a year to Hilden, and kids can meet Santa.)

(Nibbling at a Car!)