Welcome back!
My last blog was in German. I told you about two very important German Christmas traditions: Saint Nicholas (Dec 6) and Child Jesus “Christkind” (Dec 24). On the night of December 5, children in Germany leave a shoe on their window seal or by their bedroom door. Why? For Saint Nicholas to place a small gift inside. He was a very kind man who helped poor people. He will leave money for the adults and a small gift for the children. Please don’t confuse him with the American Santa Claus, who comes on the night of Dec 24 and brings gifts to the children. If you haven’t read it, click here.
Today I will tell you how our family celebrated Christmas. It all began on December 6... I jumped out of bed, ran to my bedroom door, and opened it with a loud “Bang.” I looked inside my shoe. There was my favorite chocolate and a birthday party invitation from Child Jesus “Christkind.” The envelope smelled like “Pancakes.” The whole house smelled like pancakes. My tummy rumbled. I rinsed my mouth and ran to the dining room. After breakfast, I helped Mom to clean up. Later on, Mom read me the story of Saint Nicholas while Dad, dressed up like an old Bishop, acted it out. My parents asked me what I got from Saint Nicholas. I showed them the invitation. Mom opened the envelope and said: “You know Joey, ALL your friends got the same invitation.” I started dancing in the living room and said: “Hurray, hurray a big party with my friends!” At night I fell asleep wondering, “What can I gift Child Jesus for his birthday?”
And talking about gifts. I forgot to tell you. On my September Blog, our family made a Special Announcement. You can read it here. The winners of our Book Giveaway were Luca and Marie. The best gift they got was: Luca: a Joey Paco Poster and Marie: a Tooth Fairy T-Shirt. Congratulations!
Going back to the story. Are you curious?
On the night of Dec 24, we celebrated Christmas Eve with our neighbors. Everybody brought a chair to sit and a portable table. My friends and I helped to place the tables together. It looks like one of those huge tables from Medieval Knights stories. We also helped tasting the food. (wink). Everybody brought something to eat: roasted chicken, meatloaf with a brown sauce, BBQ chicken wings, biscuits, salads, vegetables, mashed potatoes, and… Yeap, Mom made her world-famous garlic bread. We were saved from vampires. (ha,ha,ha) We had plenty of delicious options for dessert: cupcakes, warm apple crumble, gingerbread cookies, and Mom’s delicious Puerto Rican cheese flan.
We sang Christmas Carols, played tag, and went for a short walk in the forest. We brought our flashlights and walked quietly to avoid disturbing the animals. Dad found the perfect spot for us. We turned off our flashlight and looked up at the sky. Dad showed us some constellations and, of course, the Tooth Fairy Castle, too. Suddenly Dad said: “Do you guys see that big, bright star?” “Is that the Star of Bethlehem?” We were excited and started cheering when Dad smirked. It almost looked as if Child Jesus was greeting us. We returned and stopped at the Nativity Scene in our street. Dad read us the story of Child Jesus’ birth. We sang “Happy Birthday.” Then a soft wind blew the cake candles. We looked at each other and remembered his words: “You don’t have to go anywhere. I’ll come to you.” We ate a piece of cake, drank hot cocoa, and talked about our gifts for Child Jesus. After that, we cleaned up, said goodbye, and went back home. This was the best birthday party ever. A night I will never forget!
On December 25 we ate breakfast and went to the Christmas tree to pick up our gifts. There was another envelope. This time it didn’t smell like pancakes. It smelled like the forest. Inside I found this note:
Remember to brush your teeth and keep them clean for the Tooth Fairy.
Joey Paco