DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.11286#0007
6
DER NEUENHEIMER.
XXII
A German Christmas.
Having been invited by some German friends to
spend the festive season with them, I gladly took ad-
vantage of this opportunity of seeing a real German
Christmas. I arrived at my destination on Tuesday,
Christmas Eve, and spent the afternoon in wandering
a round the town. In the evening after supper we were
all summoned to the drawing room were the Christmas
tree illuminated with small wax candles and gaily adorned
with glass balls and other like ornaments occupied the
chief place in the centre of the room. Placed around
the tree on all sides were chairs and small tables each
one holding the gifts for a different person. After the
examination of the presents, large parcels were brought
out wrapped in paper and tied with string addressed to
some member of the community. These when the out-
side cover was removed revealed another paper wrapping
addressed to a different person and so on until the
large parcel dwindled down to a photograph. After
all these parcels had been untied the family gathered
round the table to discuss cakes and wine. Every guest
has a small plate of most marvellous looking cakes, a
large proportion of which are in the form of doves and
crosses. The party relate anecdotes to each other and
talk of many things until about 10 o'clock when all
retire to bed. On the next day, Christmas day itself
very little was done. The Christmas dinner consisted
of goose and sauerkraut, and a marvellous kind of
pudding consisting of a kind of jelly, whipped cream,
almonds, eggs in fact nearly everything, brought up the
rear. I do not think myself that a German Christmas
is quite so pleasant as an English one, nor do I think
that goose and sauerkraut are quite so good as turkey
and plumpudding. But perhaps according to German
ideas it would seem just the opposite.
DER NEUENHEIMER.
XXII
A German Christmas.
Having been invited by some German friends to
spend the festive season with them, I gladly took ad-
vantage of this opportunity of seeing a real German
Christmas. I arrived at my destination on Tuesday,
Christmas Eve, and spent the afternoon in wandering
a round the town. In the evening after supper we were
all summoned to the drawing room were the Christmas
tree illuminated with small wax candles and gaily adorned
with glass balls and other like ornaments occupied the
chief place in the centre of the room. Placed around
the tree on all sides were chairs and small tables each
one holding the gifts for a different person. After the
examination of the presents, large parcels were brought
out wrapped in paper and tied with string addressed to
some member of the community. These when the out-
side cover was removed revealed another paper wrapping
addressed to a different person and so on until the
large parcel dwindled down to a photograph. After
all these parcels had been untied the family gathered
round the table to discuss cakes and wine. Every guest
has a small plate of most marvellous looking cakes, a
large proportion of which are in the form of doves and
crosses. The party relate anecdotes to each other and
talk of many things until about 10 o'clock when all
retire to bed. On the next day, Christmas day itself
very little was done. The Christmas dinner consisted
of goose and sauerkraut, and a marvellous kind of
pudding consisting of a kind of jelly, whipped cream,
almonds, eggs in fact nearly everything, brought up the
rear. I do not think myself that a German Christmas
is quite so pleasant as an English one, nor do I think
that goose and sauerkraut are quite so good as turkey
and plumpudding. But perhaps according to German
ideas it would seem just the opposite.