Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! I know it is a day early for Americans but the 24th is when Germans celebrate Christmas, open presents and go to midnight mass. They celebrate today because it is the day of Jesus' birth. On the 25th people visit and hang out with relatives. They don't have Santa Claus but they do celebrate St. Nikolaus who comes on December 6th with treats which children find in their shoes. Gift giving is big here though and the streets in Stuttgart and Gmund were packed with shoppers as people rushed to buy last minute presents. Roasted chesnuts, gluhwein, and pizza baguettes are some of the treats you can find in almost every German village, town and city around the holidays. There are also all kinds of specialties in the grocery stores which you normally don't find especially seafood, fruit and pastries. We will go to the late mass in Gmund tonight so that I can have a real german Christmas experience and I will talk about it tomorrow. In the meanwhile, keep a look out for Santa!