Stories, Traditions and The Year Comes to an End
Photo by Drew Coffman on Unsplash
Christmas and the holiday season is always a time to speak together and meet with family and friends. As we come to our year’s end we asked some of our colleagues at Wonderz to share a Christmas memory from their family or a tradition they might know, as, after all, we are a company made up of people from many different places - it’s been a delight to hear their stories and we though we’d share a few of them here…
A Christmas Gone Forever - Serena
In Italy, Christmas is on 25 December. It is the day when families dress up for long lunches. I remember one of the last Christmases with my grandparents and it was only recently that I realised it was "Christmas" for me. We woke up early, very excited, and after opening the presents that Santa brought us, we immediately started to get ready. I asked my mum why we had to be all so dressed up to go to Grandma's and she said "it's important to your grandma, it's a form of respect". Perfect hair, the best dress, presents for everyone and we went a few kilometres to Grandma's house. Just like at any big event, the chairs were stuck together: the usual aunt arrived an hour later, my grandmother told me that my sister was good because she had cleaned the plate and I hadn't eaten anything, another aunt complained about the salad dressing. There was always a lot of confusion and not enough space. If there was no food left over, it meant that too little had been prepared. Unfortunately, it was only many years later that I realised that this was Christmas for me and that I would miss it forever.
Serena Eltri, Office Manager, Italian living in Berlin
The Christmas Boy - Neal
A little while ago I moved to Poland and a tradition that intrigued me even though I am from the UK was the fact that one chair is left empty at the Christmas table so that a stranger may pass by and take a meal with you and for that they must sing you a song. A few years back as we were beginning our Christmas meal, a knock came at the door and in walked a boy, who asked for some food - he ate, spoke just a little and sang us a song and then left into the cold night. I still think about the Christmas boy and who he was to this day.
Neal Hoskins, Content Marketing Consultant, English living near Krakow
Double Magic - Anastasia
Growing up in Soviet times meant Christmas ceased to be an important national holiday for decades and it was all about New Year’s. That’s when Father Frost and his alleged granddaughter Snegurochka would leave presents under the New Year’s (not Christmas!) tree at night while children were sleeping. That’s what I believed in when I was a little girl. Now living in Berlin as a multicultural family, the German Weihnachtsmann visits us on Christmas Eve and the Russian Father Frost arrives on New Year’s night. Double Magic which my daughter is longing for every end of the year.
Anastasia Rother, Business Development Manager, Russian-Ukrainian living in Berlin
Driving Away the Gloom in Berchtesgaden - Kolja
My grandmother is from the Berchtesgadener area of Germany and therefore I spent much of my Christmas time there . Since the beginning of the 19th century one tradition that has stood out is where people tried to drive away the gloomy, cold season with the rattling of chains and bells and to wake up nature again. Then the dull shots echo throughout the valley basin - the feelings that arise during this almost mystical ritual between the high, snow-covered mountain peaks go beyond words. Bans against firecrackers were already issued in the late Middle Ages - mainly to prevent poaching. The prohibitions didn’t work, so the tradition was given a Christian meaning. The Christkindl starts one week before Christmas Eve, on December 17th. Then infant Jesus is greeted with loud shots in the air at 3 p.m. The Christmas shoot is on December 24th, before Christmas mass. At midnight there is silence; On New Year’s Eve, the shooters say goodbye to the old year from 3 p.m. and welcome the new one in from midnight.
Kolja Kirchberg, Senior Sales Manager, German living in Berlin
A Very Unusual Christmas Dinner - Liz
What's for Christmas dinner? This question is asked in every family year after year maybe not, because there is always the traditional roast goose, carp or potato salad with sausages. It was different in my family. On Christmas Eve, we've had "Toast Hawaii" for dinner for as long as I can remember. I have been looking for explanations for this ever since. Growing up in the Bavarian forest, with lots of traditional customs and even more influenced by the Catholic Church, most of our family members spent a lot of time in church at Christmas. Children's mass, Christmas mass, something in between with singing and praying… There was simply little time to prepare a special feast. And the perfect solution seemed to be the "Toast Hawaii"… this German invention, which is not the envy of the world, is ham with cheese and pineapple on toast… It's quick to prepare, nothing can go wrong, everyone can do their bit to make it a "success". Thanks for this "culinary experience", Clemens Wilmenrod. You have saved us many fights and nervous breakdowns - at least when it came to food on Christmas Eve ;)
Liz Hackl, Product Owner, German living in Berlin
