A very merry whatever-you-celebrate!

Here’s to wishing everyone a very merry whatever-you-celebrate! May your days be filled with peace, love, laughter, and everything else that warms your heart and soul! ❤️

Here in Germany, we start celebrating Christmas on the 24th, which we call “Heiligabend” (Holy Evening). This is when we exchange presents and have a nice dinner together. We’ll be enjoying “Raclette” with my son and his girlfriend, using something like this. It’s a very social event where you prepare tiny portions of food on this grill-BBQ-broil kind of thing, talk, and simply enjoy each other’s company. Tomorrow, they’ll come over again to help us eat the leftovers 🤣 (which will be plenty).

We already visited the extended family, who live 300 km away, last weekend. It was very nice!

In Germany, Christmas celebrations last for three days. It starts on the evening of the 24th, and both the 25th and 26th are public holidays. Traditionally, you spend this time visiting relatives or friends—or simply enjoying some quiet time at home. And, of course, there’s a lot of eating involved: special Christmas treats and cookies, plus heavy meals like roasted beef, pork, or goose served with red cabbage, Brussels sprouts, and “Knödel” (boiled dumplings). After Christmas, a diet is practically mandatory! 😂😂😂

How will you spend the next few days? Do you have special traditions? I’d love to hear about them!

Wishing you warm holidays and a wonderful time! ❤️