December 2001 - Nr. 13
That certain Christmas Feeling
What
is it, this Christmas feeling? Apparently people define it quite differently
according to their culture and priorities. Some descriptions are of a more
spiritual nature and reflect hope for a better world, for peace and
understanding among mankind. Others cannot quite define it but say that it
is a certain feeling they remember from their childhood, something warm and
comforting inside their hearts. Yet others see it as a time to show
appreciation of their friends and families, togetherness and generosity, a
time to be charitable and to share the wealth. And a very few naysayers, the
ones that usually say nay to everything cheerful, insist that it is all
commercial. Perhaps their name is Scrooge and they cannot help themselves.
The entire world knows of Christmas and regardless of national religious trends, it is safe to say that this once strictly Christian fest has taken a foothold in almost any country to a larger or lesser degree. There might even be places where it is forbidden to celebrate Christmas, but this Christmas spirit is not stopping for any other ideology.
If it did there would not be humanitarian efforts in Afghanistan or other countries in the world. Christian charity is one of the finest traditions in the world and is a big part of the Christmas spirit, which has been adopted by many people and organisations the world over. Since it works so well it is no surprise that it is so wide spread and much hailed.
When
we ask and hope for peace we really want to change the world; and when we
want to change the world then we have to first handle the abject hunger and
despair in many places. A sick and starving man does not make good
decisions. When the basics are adequately and stably provided for then we
can start to educate and expect to reason with people.
It is a big job and not easy, or else we would have done the job already and would not have to wish for the same things again every Christmas. It is particularly difficult also because of the many drugs in our societies.
The risk factor of entire nations going insane, as we just have been seeing again, is increased with every drug taken. And we are not exempt! Just look at the crime rate and the rate of drug consumption. They both go hand in hand also with illiteracy and alcoholism, which really belongs into the drug scene.
This was not meant to be a downer, just a reminder that our Christmas spirit is vitally needed to safeguard our way of life and to make it better for others, or else there might be a future without any of the spirit left. The modern philosopher L. Ron Hubbard reminds us of this: "The only valuable thing on Earth—and never forget this—is the mind of man. With that mind can be produced everything else…And the only valuable thing to a man is his own dignity, his freedom…That is important — the man. The proud, decent, hopeful, happy man. He is important."
The way we celebrate
Someone
said recently to me that we only learn from our mistakes. I do dare to
differ, because it would mean that we could not learn at all. That mankind
has not learned from the myriad of mistakes it has collectively made should
be obvious to anyone. And if this theory is really true than we don’t have
anything to hope for and we do not have to send our children to school or
university, because we know that they can only learn from mistakes. So it is
all hopeless, is it?
I do not think so. I enjoy the fact that children learn everyday without mistakes. I only wish they would learn without the pain of fear.
When
you go into our community then you can see what I mean when I think that we
have cornered the market on the spirit of Christmas. One family alone can
make a big difference, as is being demonstrated by the members of the
Forget-ME-Not-Family, as they call themselves now. Nearly every event we
arrived at these dedicated people were there too. Both the Christkindl
Markets in Kitchener and Toronto benefited from their singing and in the
Danube Swabian Club their presence was felt not only at one event but 3 on
the same day! On top of that they do a lot of concerts in and outside of our
community.
Our
various groups of interest all get together for that special Christmas
feeling. We attended the "Kinderbescherung" at the Danube Swabian
Club, which is an annual affair and worthwhile attending.
From
crib babies to early teenagers they come with their families and sometimes 4
generations sit around a table looking on as the youngest perform parts of
the Christmas story and listen to "the way it was".
The
best part is of course when it becomes time to climb on Santa’s lap.
Interest, curiosity and sometimes even fear are displayed on the young fresh
faces.
The
grown ups remember their own first encounter with the big man in red and
regret the moment this believe in the jolly fellow fell by the wayside. The
singing of the "Twelve days of Christmas" becomes a contest of
"who can sing the loudest" among all attending families.
On
the same day the Historical Society of Mecklenburg Upper Canada held its
Christmas party under the direction of Christian Klein, who holds his
friends together.
Though
slightly indisposed he nevertheless led the bunch into song while playing
the guitar.
The
tables were decorated with candles and plates full of goodies like nuts and
fruit and home baked cookies, just like we have always done it.
Upstairs
the Sudeten Deutsche Vereinigung also had a Christmas get-together. Here too
the Forget-Me-Nots turned up to either sing or play some instrumental
Christmas music, as in this instance.
The entire building smelled of cookies, coffee and candles. Everyone wore a smile with that Sunday-best-outfit, glad to be able to be together again.
Traditional Advent
On
another day the Austrian Society gave a traditional Advent gathering in the
Delta Chelsea Inn in downtown Toronto. And whom should we find there to
entertain the crow of over 300 people?
The
Forget-Me-Not Family was there too! With hours of repertoire in varying
styles they can entertain any crowd.
In
between Guenther Kunzelmann read seasonal stories and poems, the children
received a sweet bag and everyone also got to sing "O Tannenbaum"
and many other songs. On the table big plates of traditional cakes and
cookies, walnuts and mandarin oranges kept everyone going until it was time
for that famous goulash soup with a dollop of sour cream. HMN, HMN GOOD!
Walking towards home a few blocks in the festively lit city before hailing a cab brought the evening to a perfect end even though the stars that were surely there could not be seen.
Have a Merry Christmas!
Sybille Forster-Rentmeister
( Echo Germanica, culture, heritage, entertainment )
Comments to: sfr@echoworld.com
