Have yourself a merry little christmas, may your heart be light.: Heiligabend

First thing in the morning is having breakfast with the family while enjoying sparkling wine :D.

This was my favourite this year. I love duck meat and this is duck meat mixed with duck fat. So the meat is really tasty :D.

After that I had to study and the rest of the family did a walk with our dog Lana.

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04.00 pm Grandma will be picked up from us from her home.

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04.30 pm afternoon having coffee and christmas cookies

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17:00 pm getting ready for church

Someone stays at home

It´s Chewbacca :D!

He´ll sit there, till we are back.

You have to be neatly dressed when going to church.

It´s really common to go to the church in the evening of the 24th of december.

There is a special worship, which is called "Christmette".

The church is also decorated because of christmas.

Christians celebrate the birth of baby Jesus.

This is the beginning of the church. Light is out.

And after singing some songs, the light will be turned on.

Church is all about singing and praying.

Most of the adults think about is as an contemplative event.

But honestly for children it´s like a torture, since it´s really boring and it takes a full hour, which can be very long for children, who are wainting for the gifts.

After church.

Empty church after church.

Actually it was full before.

Thats the crib, in which baby jesus lays.

History about it, in case you don´t know:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nativity_of_Jesus

I don´t believe in Jesus, but it´s really common that every christian is going to church on christmas eve, even if they never go over the year.

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After church we meet befriendet familys in front of the church, which are from the same community and chat and wish them merry christmas.

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Since a few years it´s a tradition for our family to visit the best friend of my father.

His house is right next to the church, so it´s really comfortable to go there.

He is living with his parents, which are both over 80, very kindhearted and lovely.

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19.30 pm is when we went home and have dinner.

There is a special dish for christmas eve in Germany. It´s called Kartoffelsalat (Potato salad) and Würstchen (Wiener).

Potato salad made by my grandma.

(She did the best one)

Wiener

Both with mustard and ketchup.

Well, maybe you wonder, why it is such a simple meal on such a holiday.

Most of all familys in germany are eating this dish on christmaseve, since it´s easy to make and don´t need much afford while preparing everything for the big days and going to church in the evening let also no space for big meals.

Second and also very important fact about that:

I´ve asked my mother, why we eat this and not something more spacious meal on christmas eve.

She told me that my dad and she decided like that when I was very little and so excited for the gifts that they can´t have spacious meals on christmas eve for my sake. Because even having this simple meal means a long time to wait for the children.

It´s a common rule to only get the christmas gifts after going to church and having dinner.

Children believe, that baby Jesus in the shape of an little golden haired angel called "Christkind", brings the gifts and lays them under the christmas tree.

Now, that we know where the gifts are from, we decorate the tree and lay the presents everyone have for the others under the tree till its time for unwrapping.

In our family it´s tradition to sing a few christmas songs together, before someone starts to spread the gifts to the others, that he or she has buyed.

These presents are from my mother, father, sister, me & Masato (haha :))

for my sister, grandma, father, mother & me.

(Presents from my grandma to us are separate)

Chewbacca came also to watch the presents and played with the ribbons.

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UNWRAPPING!!!

At first I unwrapped the gift Masato gave to us.

I declared to everyone what´s inside :D

It took me all I have to get the inlay out of the wrapping :D...

WE GOT 2 BOTTLES OF SAKE AND JAPANESE SWEETS :D!

Hard to decide which one we should try first :D:D:D

But first, unwrapping the other gifts :D

One by one is giving their gifts to the others so everyone can see, what the other are getting.

Common gifts are jewellery, money, gift cards, short: expensive stuff, what you wouldn´t buy yourself, stuff you may need for your hobbies, stuff the other know you want them.

For example: I got those two books because I had them on my amazon wish list

(having such a list is very comfortable, since you´ll be asked since october from nearly everyone what you like to have for christmas ^^...this can be annoying, since I seldom wish for something, because there is no need^^)