Christmas Mode

With the opening of the all popular European Christmas markets on November 23rd, Germany has been on full on Christmas mode for the past month. The cities are alive with lights, music, and rows among rows of log cabin styled stands with which one can buy just about anything from. Before last month, I hadn't been to a Christmas market since 6 Christmases ago in Innsbruck Austria.

After 6 years without my beloved Christmas markets, it's been amazing to finally go again. I've currently been to 3 different cities with markets, all with their unique style, atmosphere, and most importantly, their own custom mugs which they sell hot chocolate and glühwein from.

The Christmas season has been quite strange for me this year. First of all, it's my first time spending Christmas away from my family. Through the years, I've always loved the Christmas season because of the high value of family time, and this year, I don't have that (at least with my family in the US). It's safe to say that Christmas is one of the hardest time periods for exchange students for this very reason. I've been bracing for a second wave of homesickness through December but as of right now, I'm doing just fine. Second of all, I've been doing things the German way. For example, most Germans don't actually put up their Christmas trees until the week of Christmas whereas in the United States, most people put up their trees at the beginning of December. They also celebrate St. Nicolas day on December 6th, something I've never done back home. The tradition for that is to put out your shoes the night before for them to be filled up (by St. Nicolas himself) with candy in the morning.

Although it's weird to experience Christmas in a different way than what I've done my whole life, I think I'll look back on it fondly, and I'm looking forward to sharing more about what I learn and experience.