Traditions, customs, feasts

How do we celebrate Christmas in Luxemburg and at our home?
On the 1st of Advent i.e. 4 weeks before the 25th of December, elaborate light decorations are hung on the leafless, bare trees or on street posts. All over the place illuminated windows as well as pine trees decorated with lights in the front gardens of the houses delight us. The many lights help us to bridge over the dark winter and shorten the time till spring. On the house fronts and climbing up to the balconies you can see myriads of Santa clauses. In very many villages they hold traditional Christmas markets, making it easier for us to choose and buy presents. In the small log cabins they offer hand-made candles, balls for the Christmas trees, Advent wreaths and a lot of little presents and souvenirs. They make us feel good by offering us mulled wine, pepper cake and other things for our sweet tooth. For us the most important thing is the Christmas meal. On Christmas Eve we eat traditionally a mixed salad with pate, warm quail legs and roasted pine kernels which are served with a dry Mosel wine. On Christmas Day (Dec 25th) our family sits round a Chinese Fondue consisting of a broth which our grandmother made the day before. It is enriched with soya beans, Chinese cabbage, Chinese mushrooms and ginger. The raw meat and fish are dipped into the hot soup and cooked as you wish. It is a meal which is easy to digest and even our almost 5 year old grandson Simon was vary happy and laughed when his grandfather lost the fish in the soup. After our Christmas meal Simon can get the presents from under the richly decorated Christmas tree and distribute them to the convivial family members. A self baked Christmas stolen crowns this nice family festivity every year.

Maoussi (Luxembourg)

Waiting for St. Nikolaus

In Luxemburg children received and still receive present on the 6th of December. As a little girl I had a favourite doll called “PEPPI” of celluloid, with “true” blue eyes and a painted silver-blond earl-curl hair style. Every year about 3 weeks before the 6th of December, Peppi disappeared. Although I initiated a huge search and got on everybody’s nerves with my questions, she was nowhere to be found and I was, as you can image, rather sad and angry. Even my mother had a hard time trying to comfort me, but promised over and over again that I would soon find her in her doll’s bed. I had to keep out of mischief and St. Nikolaus would help me. This seemed very strange to me because every year it was the same game. The last couple of days before St. Nilolaus day I put my slippers at the door and always found some sweets in them; Only, there was no trace of Peppi! I did hope that St. Nikolaus would not forget me nor my doll, for should I wish other presents, they would never be able to replace Peppi. Full of expectations I went to bed on December 5th. I tried not to fall asleep so that I could surprise Nikolaus when he visited our house. In the end, being exhausted my eyes did close. In the early morning wide awake again, I didn’t bother getting ready but dashed in my pyjamas down the stairs into the kitchen ( the only room in the house which was heated in the early morning) and surprise the whole table was covered with presents and sweets for us three children. But nicest of all was the doll’s bed at my table place for in it lay Peppi! My goodness! She was really well dressed up. She had new clothes on, stockings and shoes. Even her bedclothes were brand new and beside her bed there were other sets sewn and knitted in fitting colours. It was breathtaking and I was so happy that I quite forgot for a long moment to look at the other presents. Till deep into the night my mother had sewn and knitted for Peppi. And every year on St; Nikolaus day Mama’s eyes turned shiny when she saw my joy over the return of Peppi.

LOLO (Luxembourg)