One of them already assembles the decoration as soon as “Last Christmas” sounds for the first time somewhere, the other one quickly makes a few spaces at the last minute on the 23rd … We have people from the Ebersberg district for our “Bunter Advent” series asked how they celebrate the days from December 1st and what should not be missing.
When asked about the pre-Christmas period of her childhood, Tonja Stöger immediately thinks of the school performance in which her third grade performed the famous Frederic Austin classic from 1909 “The Twelve Days of Christmas” at the big celebration for the entire Lakevue Elementary in Nampa, Idaho . “I was one of the five gold rings,” says the 53-year-old and smiles at the thought of the glittering hula hoops that made up her costume. Until 2011, the woman from Kirchseeon lived with her husband, an Austrian born in Germany, and their two children in the USA. “That’s why the poor didn’t know any Santa Claus at all until they were nine or 13,” says the native American. It was only a few years after the move that she began to give the 19- and 23-year-olds a little something on December 6th.
The primary school teacher was also foreign to other customs. Advent calendars are now widespread even in Idaho, but when she was little, a chain hanging in the room with as many red and green construction paper pennants as there were days on the festival was shortened by one sheet a day for the countdown. The waiting time from Thanksgiving was also made sweeter by visits to the shopping center, where – with an obligatory photo – the little ones could sit on the lap of a cozy, bearded “Santa” and get rid of their Christmas wishes before they received a red and white striped candy cane. Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa, Stöger’s son and daughter were also able to experience this, and until they came to Bavaria their Christmas party was similar to that of their mother as a little girl: “On Christmas Eve there was a single present – which, funny enough, sometimes consisted of Christmas pajamas – then left the children sleep early after a small snack with cheese and crackers, salami, nuts or tangerines to be ready for the next day. “
The cookies provided for Santa by the fireplace with milk or hot chocolate were of course gone on the 25th, when everyone jumped out of bed early. To the sound of Christmas music, the presents were opened in pajamas, followed by breakfast with banana or zucchini bread, before the big Christmas dinner with the family took place in the afternoon or evening. At Stöger it was often “ham” (ham) with mashed potatoes, gravy and “candied yams”, a kind of sweet potato with marshmallows and cinnamon. “I still like to do that today, but now I leave out the marshmallows,” says the mountain-loving sport climber and laughs. “On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me …” she can still sing on request.