A Good Old German Christmas
As modified through the ages
My maternal grandfather was German.
My maternal grandmother was German.
My paternal grandfather was German.
My paternal grandmother was Scotch/Irish.
Oops.
I know very little about old German Christmas traditions. I'm not familiar with their origins or their specific characteristics. I know their nature only by their interpretive modifications as interpreted by my parents. Still, some of what they told me about their traditions got passed down from my grandparents.
As a parent and a grandparent, I have reinterpreted those traditions and passed them on to new generations. I suspect some rather ancient German customs still inform them.
You have to have a tree. You do. That's not necessarily German, but the degree of obligation probably is. When I say tree, I mean one in the throes of dying, what we euphemistically call a live tree. The best thing is to pretend you chopped it down in the middle of a vast forest and a severe snowstorm. My heart is warm already.
