The night before Easter there was an Easter Fire in my village. Villages in northern Germany each spend months collecting brush and wood for an enormous fire, where the community comes and celebrates. A few days before the fire itself there is 'night watch'. People pay 10 euros for all they can drink/eat and they gaurd the wood from neighboring village rascals who may want to light it up before its official date. The guards did their job well for we had a HUGE fire on the intended night. The sky was red and although it was cold standing next to that beast of a 'camp fire' was enough to keep us warm. There were beverages, funnle cakes, sassages, and schnitzel to choose from. Neighbors came and we all stood around talking and laughing. It was a fun night.
The next day we prepared the table for Easter brunch. Rolls, lunch meat, cheeses, yogurt, fish, spreads, etc. covered the table along with little chocolate bunnies on each plate. My two sisters, my mom and dad, my grandma, and a cousin were all there to eat at 11. Afterward my mom and grandmother went outside to hide candy and presents, then the four of us 'children' went running about searching vigoursly in flower pots and wood stacks for sweets. With no stone left unturned we sat at the picnic table, divied up our candy, and matched the person to the intended gift. After a family picture and some coffee my grandma and cousin went home. I played scrable with my mom and sisters and after a while another cousin came and we played menopoly. Soon a few more friends had joined us and we decided to honor the tradition of going for a swim in the lake. My mom and dad stayed behind and promised to heat up the sauna for when we ruturned. (We did not end up using it though). Now let me tell you now, in past years a swim may have been totally acceptable as the weather was warm and sunny. This year however, though the sun was shining, it was not at all warm. Maybe 40 degrees if we were lucky. Not discouraged we gathered up some towels, got into our suits, and marched through the woods to the lake. Two people didn't dare get in but 6 of us did. After taking our time getting undressed and staring at the lake people started geting in one by one. Getting in was easy, it was the getting out which proved to be difficult. Everyone wanted out at once and the steps were slippy! I thought they were exagerating the low temperature of the water, but after I 'fearlessly' jumped in, I can attest to the cold. It was so fridged that I immediately lost my breath and strugged to breath. I was out in two shakes of a litle lambs tail. We took a picture to remember the day, dressed, and trudged back to the house longing for warm showers and tea. No matter how cold it was outside, that water was COLDER. It was a fun Easter tradition which I'm happy to have taken part in.
Back home we found two more friends sitting at the dinning room table. We got some wine, rum, cola, and beer and sat around until 4:00 AM when the last three people left. I slept like a baby.
Easter was entertaining and I felt comfortable and happy celebrating with my German family. I didn't miss the states at all - not even after calling to wish everyone a Happy Easter - and I had a really great day.
All in all Easter in Germany was fantastic!
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| My German Family Left to right: Mom, Dad, Me, Grandma, Sophie (sister), Charlotte (sister), Triene (cousin) |
