Christmas

Christmas in Germany is pretty much the same thing as in America. Lots of family time, presents, lots of food. There's only one main thing that stands out: they give presents on Christmas Eve rather than Christmas Day. I personally don't care much one way or the other, but it seems like the German way creates a lot more problems -- it's easy enough to convince kids that Santa came during the night while they were sleeping, but how do you convince them he stopped by on Christmas Eve afternoon?

I spent pretty much a huge chunk of the Christmas week with Mario's family. Christmas Eve - afternoon cake and coffee with his parents and brother, followed by dinner, presents, and more cake.  I was expecting to get a couple of things but not a lot, since we don't see Mario's parents very often and when we do see them, I am mostly just the quiet shadow in the background, too shy to say much in my bumbling German. Not this year -- I had just as many boxes under the tree with my name as the boys, which was quite a pleasant surprise. I've gotten less for Christmas from previous boyfriends' families whom I'd known longer (and actually had conversations with).

Among the spoils were: way over 100eur in gift cards for H&M and IKEA; two months' worth of toiletries and perfume; a 1000 page book (in ENGLISH!) that I devoured in a week; a key holder to hang by the door; and a bag of Christmas chocolate that dwarfs what any kid could hope to bring home for Halloween.

Mario and I were invited back over the next day (25th) for cake and coffee for his grandma Sonja. She's a sweet lady but has Alzheimer's and forgot where the bathroom was 7 times. She also signed Mario's Christmas card twice.

On the 26th we headed back again to his parents' apartment. This time we had dinner and exchanged presents with the extended family -- mom, dad, brother, aunt, uncle, 2 cousins, and an 8 year old nephew. They were all chatting away excitedly in Berliner but from what I could tell, the favorite topic was life in East Germany under the DDR.

They had lots of stories about how the children were left alone at night while the parents went out. The kids were scared, the parents came home to find every single light on in the house, etc.

I finally asked, "Don't you have babysitters here in Germany?" Turns out that under the DDR government, they were all too poor to afford babysitters. Everyone was in the same boat and helped each other out when they could. Instead of paying a babysitter they just put the kids to bed and gave the neighbors a key to the apartment. The neighbors could hear through the walls when the kids cried and would go over to comfort them.

Mario's parents were coming home from one such night out. Their route took them along the wall, which of course was still intact and heavily guarded. The Stasi were extremely heavy-handed about anti-DDR propaganda and it was normal for people to be taken in for questioning and just disappear. Fun fact: their former headquarters are just a block away from our apartment! Makes for a very cozy feel in the neighborhood.
Mario's dad decided just as they were walking along a checkpoint that it was a good time for him to start loudly voicing his [extremely negative and honest] opinions about the soldiers standing guard and the DDR. His wife had to clamp her hands over his mouth and drag him away, fearing that the father of her children would also disappear.
At first glance this story doesn't seem all that crazy. But when you really think about it -- can you imagine going up to a policeman and saying "Hey, you're a dick," and then he beats you and throws you into jail where you rot for the rest of your life -- if you're lucky? And to think it was happening until the late 80s in a country that is as modern as Germany!

After dinner they continued telling stories and we drank the night away until midnight or so, then said goodbye and piled into our cars (with DD's, of course. Germans are very strict about having a designated driver).

So, that was my Christmas. Warm and fuzzy and filled with family, just like in America. Except for the Stasi stories.