Day 9: 12 Days of "Christmas Around the World"

I've been blessed to have traveled extensively throughout Europe while stationed as a missionary in Eastern Europe. To share a bit of that past, I bring to you The 12 Days of "Christmas Around the World." Each day I will chose a country I visited, tell a personal story, and share a Christmas tradition from that country. Please add your own family traditions in the comments section of these posts, or share your own international experiences if you've been blessed enough to travel.

Happy Holidays from Ms. Q!

Angels


Or are they...?


These are students from my 12D class, and I won't ruin the nice scene this photo portrays by telling you how they were in class.

Just kidding.

Sort of.

You can't help but think of angels when you think of Christmas for, Hark! You can even hear them singing.

Sh....listen...

Okay, so maybe it's just Rosemary Clooney on your iPod, but you know what I'm saying.

I don't think I need to explain in detail the importance of angels at Christmas - they held Academy Award winning supporting roles in the birth of Jesus, and they now hold prominent places in our households at the tops of our Christmas trees.

My sister played an angel in our church's Nativity play when we were kids.

I was one of the three kings.

While she got to wear a long, flowing, white robe with pretty wings and a halo, I had to wear an ugly smock and fluffy hat and walk down the aisle carrying a glass bottle of "frankincense" while some guy sang "We Three Kings" in an, admittedly, rich baritone.

It was much too masculine for my Barbie-loving ways.

I wanted to be an angel.

Or Mary. Mary was a plum role, too.

I attribute this childhood disappointment to my tomboy ways of '94-'97.

Moving on...

Boldog Karácsonyt

Hungary has two traditions that are a little bit different than what you might be used to at Christmas.

First, Baby Jesus brings the presents, not a fat, jolly elf/Saint who lives at the North Pole.

Second, most homes include an Advent wreath with their usual holiday decorations. The flower shops (an explanation of the importance of flowers in Hungary here) carry a variety of fresh wreaths decorated with all manner of ribbons, trinkets, and colors. Like the pastor does at church, you can light a candle for each week of Advent in the comfort of your own home.

Just make sure you have a fire extinguisher handy and/or don't have anything flammable near the candles. More on this in our Day 12 post...

Day 8: 12 Days of "Christmas Around the World"

I've been blessed to have traveled extensively throughout Europe while stationed as a missionary in Eastern Europe. To share a bit of that past, I bring to you The 12 Days of "Christmas Around the World." Each day I will chose a country I visited, tell a personal story, and share a Christmas tradition from that country. Please add your own family traditions in the comments section of these posts, or share your own international experiences if you've been blessed enough to travel.

Happy Holidays from Ms. Q!

In A Word? Ireland.


A few years ago I had the pleasure (read: misfortune) of visiting Ireland the week between Christmas and New Years.

I say misfortune mostly because I was sick - more sick than I've ever been in my life barring surgery. But it was also an unfortunate time to visit because nothing happens in Ireland during this week (and I don't mean in a Las Vegas kind of way).

Sure, they have Boxing Day and St. Stephen's Day, but what good is that to a tourist? It just means the shops, museums, and tourist-y places are likely closed.

The highlights of this trip were kissing the Blarney stone (after which my friend promptly became ill), drinking Guinness in an Irish pub, and..., um..., yep, that's it.

I suppose the tour of the Jameson whiskey factory wasn't all that bad...

After my Irish "vacation" I spent the next 20 or so hours traveling back to Hungary when I really should have been in a hospital. I pretty much spent the plane ride from Dublin to Vienna in tears as I fully expected my head to explode from the painful pressure in my ears.

The next day I went to the doctor in Sopron (socialized medicine = not bad at all, you heard it here first). He and his otoscope got within in 3 feet of me when he began writing a prescription and scolded me for not seeing a doctor sooner.

Yeah, buddy. I was kind of between countries!

Tradition As Fire Hazard

In Ireland, one little tradition they have at Christmastime is to keep a lighted candle in the window on Christmas Eve.

The purpose of this is so that Mary and Joseph can feel welcomed and know there is shelter to be had at your abode.

One can only wonder what's supposed to be done about the donkey.

Perhaps it's enough to hope the Irish have flame-retardant curtains.

Until tomorrow, Nollaig Shona Daoibh.

Day 7: 12 Days of "Christmas Around the World"

I've been blessed to have traveled extensively throughout Europe while stationed as a missionary in Eastern Europe. To share a bit of that past, I bring to you The 12 Days of "Christmas Around the World." Each day I will chose a country I visited, tell a personal story, and share a Christmas tradition from that country. Please add your own family traditions in the comments section of these posts, or share your own international experiences if you've been blessed enough to travel.

Happy Holidays from Ms. Q!

Karacsonyi Vasar


Consider this Christmas Markets Take 2, Hungarian style.

What makes Christmas markets different in Hungary than they are in Austria, you ask?

Go ahead. I'll wait.

Well, I'm glad you asked, because you'll be delighted to know there is no difference beyond geography.

This photo was snapped at Sopron's little version in Fő Tér.

Folk music is played live by local bands, attendees can enjoy some lángos or forralt bor, and local artisans sell their handmade wares.

It's delightful, and all the more so for being close enough for a midday stroll in between class periods at BDEG.

Day 6: 12 Days of "Christmas Around the World"

I've been blessed to have traveled extensively throughout Europe while stationed as a missionary in Eastern Europe. To share a bit of that past, I bring to you The 12 Days of "Christmas Around the World." Each day I will chose a country I visited, tell a personal story, and share a Christmas tradition from that country. Please add your own family traditions in the comments section of these posts, or share your own international experiences if you've been blessed enough to travel.

Happy Holidays from Ms. Q!

Day 6: Csendes Éj


I was living in Hungary when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans.

All I could tell from the news reports (in Hungarian or German) was that New Orleans suffered a tremendous storm and, from the video, it looked like the entire city was destroyed.

Sidenote: This year marked the 5th year anniversary of Katrina and I finally was able to see a lot of the original reporting thanks to CNN, NatGeo, Discovery, and The History Channel.

To bring awareness of, and raise funds for, the plight of stranded and now homeless citizens, a gospel choir from NOLA made a world tour. Sopron was one of their stops.

Pictured is the crowd in the Lutheran church.

The show took place in December, and the best part of the evening (in my estimation) was when the band encouraged everyone to join in and sing along with Silent Night.

All were welcomed to sing in their language of choice.

In a show of musical solidarity, I heard many versions of this hymn as all sang out as one. The most prominent languages I heard were Hungarian (of course), German (Sopron is 3 km from the Austrian border), and English (yours truly).

Hungarian:
CSENDES ÉJ

Csendes éj! Szentséges éj!
Mindenek nyugta mély;
Nincs fenn más, csak a Szent szülepár,
Drága kisdedük álmainál,
Szent Fiú, aludjál, szent Fiú aludjál!

Csendes éj! Szentséges éj!
Angyalok hangja kél;
Halld a mennyei halleluját,
Szerte zengi e drága szavát,
Krisztus megszabadit, Krisztus megszabadit!

Csendes éj! Szentséges éj!
Sziv örülj, higyj, remélj!
Isten Szent Fia hinti reád,
Ajka vigyszt adó mosolyát,
Krisztus megszületett, Krisztus megszületett!

German:
Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht,
Alles schläft; einsam wacht
Nur das traute hochheilige Paar.
Holder Knabe im lockigen Haar,
Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh!
Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh!

Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht,
Hirten erst kundgemacht
Durch der Engel Halleluja,
Tönt es laut von fern und nah:
Christ, der Retter ist da!
Christ, der Retter ist da!

Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht,
Gottes Sohn, o wie lacht
Lieb' aus deinem göttlichen Mund,
Da uns schlägt die rettende Stund'.
Christ, in deiner Geburt!
Christ, in deiner Geburt!

English:
Silent night, holy night
All is calm all is bright
'Round yon virgin Mother and Child
Holy infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace

Silent night, holy night,
Shepherds quake at the sight.
Glories stream from heaven afar,
Heav'nly hosts sing Alleluia;
Christ the Savior is born
Christ the Savior is born

Silent night, holy night,
Son of God, love's pure light.
Radiant beams from Thy holy face,
With the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth

Day 5: 12 Days of "Christmas Around the World"

I've been blessed to have traveled extensively throughout Europe while stationed as a missionary in Eastern Europe. To share a bit of that past, I bring to you The 12 Days of "Christmas Around the World." Each day I will chose a country I visited, tell a personal story, and share a Christmas tradition from that country. Please add your own family traditions in the comments section of these posts, or share your own international experiences if you've been blessed enough to travel.

Happy Holidays from Ms. Q!

Day 5: Stary Smokovec Gets in Your Eyes


Okay, so that was a poor excuse for a reference to The Platters' "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes." Deal with it.

What does get in your eyes, however, when you're in Stary Smokovec, Slovakia, is this magical view every morning you wake up and look out your hotel room window.

FACT: In 2004, the Tatras Mountains (where Stary Smokovec is located) experienced a devastating windstorm that decimated the landscape and hardwood forests.

Evidence of the storm could still be seen when I visited in 2006, because, quite simply, the Slovaks couldn't clean up and process the lumber from the fallen trees fast enough.

The local ecology is still recovering.

But enough of this downer. Let's move on to one of my favorite Christmas traditions...Slovak Style.

Booze: A Slovak Tradition
Hriatuo is a hot brandy drink devised from honey, butter, and slivovice. A curiously strong spin on a hot-buttered rum.

Hriatuo is drunk at weddings, christenings, and on Christmas Eve. It's also considered good medicine for your common cold or cough. Y'right...

I like this particular boozy tradition because it reminds me of my own family gatherings of Christmas Eve's past.

Every year my mom's side of the family gathers at my aunt and uncle's house (a picturesque log cabin) located near the family homestead.

My aunt bakes cookies, my uncle makes meatballs, and we all descend on Christmas Eve to drink hot-buttered rums, Tom & Jerry's, mulled wine, and any other wonderfully seasonal, hot, boozy beverage.

Predictably we all get kind of sloshed.

Another of my aunts plays the piano, two of my cousins play their flutes, and we all join in singing ridiculously bad versions of Christmas carols.

I refuse to bring my violin for fear of drunken injury.

The best part is when yet another aunt (yes, I have several) takes to eating all of the raisins off the gingerbread men and women the aforementioned hostess spent hours baking.

She leaves the cookies intact, but for the little raisin eyes, you see.

Poor, blind, gingerbread folk left to fend for themselves...

Day 4: 12 Days of "Christmas Around the World"

I've been blessed to have traveled extensively throughout Europe while stationed as a missionary in Eastern Europe. To share a bit of that past, I bring to you The 12 Days of "Christmas Around the World." Each day I will chose a country I visited, tell a personal story, and share a Christmas tradition from that country. Please add your own family traditions in the comments section of these posts, or share your own international experiences if you've been blessed enough to travel.

Happy Holidays from Ms. Q!

Day 4: The Christmas Market


Boy, don't you just love a good Christmas Market?

This shot was snapped at the Rathausplatz Christkindlmarkt in Wien, Austria (Vienna to you American folk).

Each window in the townhall is dressed in blue and acts as one day on the Advent calendar. Each day another window is opened to depict a lovely Christmas scene.

Sadly, no giant pieces of chocolate are hidden in this Advent calendar...

Truly the best thing about a European Christmas Market is the rum punch.

It comes in a variety of flavors - favorites include raspberry and strawberry - and it costs approximately 5 Euros.

You get at least 2 Euros back if you return the mug.

If you don't return the mug, you retain a lovely keepsake as each Christmas market has it's own mug design.

Nothing beats the frigid cold of winter than bundling up, visiting several Christmas markets in one day (there are hundreds in Vienna), and acquiring a small collection of mugs along with a rather sizable buzz.

Day 3: 12 Days of "Christmas Around the World"

I've been blessed to have traveled extensively throughout Europe while stationed as a missionary in Eastern Europe. To share a bit of that past, I bring to you The 12 Days of "Christmas Around the World." Each day I will chose a country I visited, tell a personal story, and share a Christmas tradition from that country. Please add your own family traditions in the comments section of these posts, or share your own international experiences if you've been blessed enough to travel.

Happy Holidays from Ms. Q!

Day 3: Surly Babushka Greetings



I picked up this card at the Museum of Communism in Prague, and it's relevant to our Christmas countdown because I found the cutest Babushka Doll (Matroyshka) cards at World Market this year, and sent them to my family as their holiday greeting.

Like traditional nesting dolls, the card looks like a large Russian doll, and opens up to a paper pullout of four dolls in descending size.

It's a fun one.

Czech, Czech, Czech out this Christmas Tradition...
One Christmas tradition I'm particularly interested in relates to the foretelling of marriage.

Apparently, an unmarried lady is supposed to throw a shoe over her shoulder toward the front door of her family home. If the shoe lands with the toe pointing toward the door, she's "booted" out into the cold with no money or prospects to fend for herself until the first thaw of spring.

Harsh, right?

Well, it's not true. Did I have you going there?

The true tradition is that if the toe points toward the door, the lucky lady will be married within a year.

I say, that if her shoe hits a smug married entering the house for the family Christmas party, the unmarried girl will have 7 years of good luck.

Day 2: 12 Days of "Christmas Around the World"

I've been blessed to have traveled extensively throughout Europe while stationed as a missionary in Eastern Europe. To share a bit of that past, I bring to you The 12 Days of "Christmas Around the World." Each day I will chose a country I visited, tell a personal story, and share a Christmas tradition from that country. Please add your own family traditions in the comments section of these posts, or share your own international experiences if you've been blessed enough to travel.

Happy Holidays from Ms. Q!

Day 2: Christmas Greetings from Poland


Sending Christmas cards isn't just an American tradition. It began in 1843 in England by a man named Sir Henry Cole.

Every year I look forward to choosing either the most ridiculous or most creative card to send to my family and friends - sometimes the ridiculous and creative go hand in hand.

I also enjoy receiving cards for two reasons. One, Christmas cards aren't bills. Two, Christmas cards make for great decoration (hang a piece of garland or pretty ribbon on the wall and use paper clips, clothespins, or small alligator clips to attach them to the ribbon).

This card has greetings written in Hungarian, English, and German, respectively, but was sent by a friend in Poland.

Day 1: 12 Days of "Christmas Around the World"

I've been blessed to have traveled extensively throughout Europe while stationed as a missionary in Eastern Europe. To share a bit of that past, I bring to you The 12 Days of "Christmas Around the World." Each day I will chose a country I visited, tell a personal story, and share a Christmas tradition from that country. Please add your own family traditions in the comments section of these posts, or share your own international experiences if you've been blessed enough to travel.

Happy Holidays from Ms. Q!

Day 1: Bérzsenyi Daniel Evangélikus Gimnázium (BDEG)


In Hungary, each grade level of secondary school students is broken up into a number of "classes" (consortiums, if you will). Each consortium attends the same schedule of classes under the direction of a form teacher.

During their senior year, each consortium performs a variety of tasks throughout the year, one of which being leading the school in a candle lighting ceremony during one week of the Advent season.

The consortium usually plans a skit, a song or poetry performance, or a Bible reading (BDEG is a parochial school). They then light the candle, lead attendees through a prayer, and dismiss students to their next class...all taking place during the 15-minute morning (read: snack) break.

Snowpocalypse

This is why I couldn't make it back to Milwaukee: