When i was a child, we would visit my grandparents and celebrate on Christmas Eve. My brother and cousins and I would have to go into the kitchen and wait to hear the cow bell that would be rung when Santa (my grandfather) came into the house -- and then we would go upstairs and dance by the tree (I don;t remember to what -- too young to remember if candles or not , but the tree was already up and located in a screened in porch off the living room and was only lit up when "Santa came") I too, have no interest in putting up my tree before Christmas Eve. I usually buy it a day or 2 before and get the largest tree I can find (I have a cathedral ceiling) so 13 - 15 feet does me fine, except it's getting harder and harder to find a tree that late. My son's come over with their wives and children and we decorate the tree before opening presents. I now have started to put the lights up before they come and some of the ornaments because it gets too late for the my grandchildren who are under 5 years old. When my children were young I would let them take a nap and put up and decorate the tree so that it would be a surprise and magical when they woke up. I never knew this was a custom, it was just how I felt about Christmas. When my children didn't take naps anymore then I celebrated on Christmas Day and I would decorate the tree while they slept so that they would wake up to Santa having brought the tree and presents. Children have so much today that all this is taken for granted. And having the tree up for 2 or 3 weeks takes from the excitement and special moment of the occasion -- I think. Claire ----- Original Message ----- From: "Heinz L. Zulauf" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, December 02, 2000 8:39 AM Subject: Re: [GERMAN-LIFE] Real Candles <<Heinz you live in Germany, let us know what you do on Christmas evening, or a story what come to mind, from other Christmas evenings.>> Katharina, your description is as good as it can be. It's so typical that there isn't very much to add. The procedure you describe used to be the same when I was a child (must be centuries ago). The husband and the children used to sit around somewhere in the bedroom (or any other room a family might have had) and the wife used to prepare the tree in the living room. We didn't have candies on the tree (may be we couldn't afford it), and some the ornaments must have been at least one hundred years old. Electric candles just didn't exist but we had a lot of silvery lametta (angels' hair) and wooden ornaments. We used to go to the Christmas service at around 5 p.m. By the way, the whole procedure is still the same, noew as our children have left and live in their own homes. My wife and I still have a smallish Christmas tree with real candles and lametta and my sons come to see us in the afternoon and celebrate Christmas Eve with us. The Christmas Dinner habits have changed a bit since money is no longer at short supply. We now use to have a Swiss meat fondue instead of "Frankfurter" or "Wiener", but other than this most of the traditions have survived. Any more questions? Heinz _________________________ Heinz L. Zulauf Flotowstrasse 9 D-64287 Darmstadt Germany e-mail: [email protected] Visit my Private Homepage "The Classical Music Site" http://myweb.vector.ch/zulauf _________________________ ----- Original Message ----- From: "Katharina Hines" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, December 02, 2000 1:07 PM Subject: Re: [GERMAN-LIFE] Real Candles The town I visit last, in Hessen, they had real candles on the Christmas tree in church for the Christmas service. As a child our church had two very big Christmas trees in the Church. Each one had real candles on them. There were 3 Christmas services in the evening and one at midnight. Before each service all new candle would be placed on the tree. My family also has real candles on the christmas tree. In the States you put a tree up around Thanksgiving. In Germany you don't buy the tree till a few days before Christmas. As a child , I was told ' stay in your room' from late afternoon till Christmas eve, because the Christ-child( Christkind) will come tonight. With out you knowing, your parents prepare the Christmas tree (Weihnachtsbaum0.The Ornaments varies from one household to an other. Ranging from home-made, all-natural and bought ornaments. We always had candy on the tree, the candy we could eat off the tree, till the tree came down. We would call it "Plündern " After sun set we would go the Church service. After we came home, we had to wait, till all the candles on the christmas tree where lit. Then a little bell would ring, and we could enter the Gute Stube (living room). The family sings Christmas carols ,read the Christmas story, or read Christmas poems. Then the Bescherung (gift opening) got started. After that we would eat the dinner. Some families eat the dinner before the Bescherung. Heinz you live in Germany, let us know what you do on Christmas evening, or a story what come to mind, from other Christmas evenings. Katharina >In Germany our friends don't decorate their tree until Christmas Eve and >they >do use real candles. Remember they are using beeswax candles which burn >very >slowly and don't drip much. They also only put about 12 candles on a tree >and someone is in the room at all times when they are lit. Jerilyn > >Jerilyn Lappin Koskan >Cook Co., Illinois >[email protected] >FTM user > >BREWER-Daniel Belmont, OH, Northumberland, Indiana and Jefferson, PA >DAVIS/DAVIDSON-Marium/Mary b1803 Bucks, PA Mother Rachel Greene >DUSATKO-Barbara, Anton late 1800s Butler, NE >DYE-William, David, Daniel in Monroe, OH early 1800s. >FISHER-Joseph, b abt 1805 OH, last Morgan, OH 1850. Wife Judith Lappin. >Children John, Knight, Elizabeth, Thomas, Hannah, Mary, Rachel, Ruth >GRAY-Ogden b 1850 Morgan, OH, d Fulton, IL. Children - Ogden, Lafayette, >Mary A., Cornelius, Elizabeth, Rachel >GREENE-Rachel, b abt 1770, Bucks, PA >HANNA-Archibald, d 1793 Westmoreland, PA Children Hugh, William, Hannah, >Mary >(wed Robert Williams) >KIRK-Elizabeth, Quaker, daughter Joseph Kirk/Judith Knight, wed Robert >Lappin >abt 1790. Chester & Fayette, PA Belmont, OH >KOSKAN-Vaclav, b 1850s Czechoslovakia d Butler, NE >LAPPIN-PA and OH late 1700s/1800s >LEAK/LEEK-MD & Eastern, OH in late 1700s and 1800s >MITCHELL-Thomas Mitchell, b 1770s Greene, PA -d Monroe, OH. Daughter Maria >wed William Dye. > >MONROE-Nicholas Monroe, b PA, died Belmont, OH early 1850s. Children >Curtis, >William, John, Samuel, Mary (Hendershot), Eleanor (Maring), Rebecca >(Murphy), >Miller, George, Richard. >MONTGOMERY-Daniel, d 1842 Vinton, OH Family to Wayne, IL Wife Alice Lappin, >Children William, Mariah, John, Elizabeth, Rachel, Letticia, Ruth, Euphemia >OATES-Sarah Elizabeth born Lewis, WV, adopted Samuel McCluster - to >Decatur, >KS Parents supposedly Elizabeth Puffenbarger/Benjamin Oates >SLUSHER-Frederick, b PA, lived Monroe, OH, d Wayne, IL >SMITH-Aaron 1755/Anna Foster Bucks, PA Children John, Amos, Hannah, Samuel, >Charles, Mary >STARBUCKS-John and Ann Lappin of Belmont, OH >STARKEY - b 1810 PA, wed Belmont, OH >TODD - Wm. & Rachel Lappin, d late 1800s Morgan, OH >WADSWORTH-Alcinda, Martha, Wm., Rachel, Emily, Ruth b Belmont, OH > ____________________________________________________________________________ _________ Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com