Weihnachten

The word for Christmas in German is "Weihnachten." It is a much easier to celebrate this holiday in Germany, where they are all unabashedly Catholic or Protestant. Not to say I don't miss the drama back home with what-to-dos once you get an atheist or converted Jew in the family, but it's nice to pretend that everyone is the same and settle down for a merry Christmas without the fluster.

The kid and me made cookies today. Okay, I made them and she decorated a couple with raisins. She said, "We can also decorate them with sprinkles or powdered sugar," and before I knew it, I snapped, "But it must be with raisins!" (Snapping gets much more intense in German, I promise you.) At home, we've always decorated our gingerbread cookies with raisins and I'll be damned if that's going to change now.

Here are the cookies:

We also have a fantastic Weihnachts Markt (Christmas Market) in Aachen. Me, the Dad and the Kid were there this evening. I had two and a half glasses of Glühwein (mulled wine) and was quite the giddy one for a while. I think these markets are such a superb addition to the Christmas time because it gets everyone out the house and into the street to eat, drink and be good captalistists when they would otherwise stay home and watch Quiz Taxi on the tele. Now that I'm home, I think I'll go see if it's on.