Early Christmas at the Hansa Haus
The first thing any visitor to the annual Christmas Party at
the Hansa Haus noticed, was the beautifully decorated Christmas
tree with the many presents underneath in the entrance foyer.
This immediately helped to set the mood – especially for the
young guests, for whom this party was really arranged.
 At the hands of their parents – or often grandparents – they
eagerly entered the decorated hall in anticipation of the
miracles that were promised for later, such as a visit from
Santa Claus! Reiner Walter welcomed the guests and thanked them
for coming – especially the youngsters, and the proud
grandparents.
 Those youngsters that had been to previous events and already
knew their way around, mainly ignored the "Stollen" and cookies
that were on all the tables and gravitated to the tables that
were set up for arts and crafts – followed very quickly by the
first-timers.
| Children & their families |
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It was gratifying to note with what amazing talents some of them
finished the tasks they had set for themselves and proudly
showed them off.
| The Hansa Choir under Dieter
Wütherich |
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One of the first items on the agenda was the singing of seasonal
songs by the Hansa Choir, directed by Dieter Wütherich.
| Solo renditions by Brittnie,
the Hansa Choir & Dieter Wütherich |
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 Some
solo renditions such as "Leise rieselt der Schnee" by Brittnie
and later young Emily with "Ihr Hirten erwacht" helped to really
set the mood for the young audience. Not to forget the
renditions later by Peter Lamprecht on his accordion. Well done!
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| Children sing and listen |
Dieter Wütherich looks for
another conductor and choir |
 Most of the children seated themselves on the floor in front of
the choir and I noticed many of them singing along – to the
surprise and delight of the grown-up audience. Christmas
songbooks were available for songs in German and English on all
the tables, with the page numbers of the scheduled songs listed
on the programs and many of the older generation bravely sang
along as well, when invited by the choir director.
But in the back of every child’s mind was "When is Santa
coming?" I heard this question quite a lot as I traveled around
the hall taking pictures.
Well, when the choir had finished one could hear the Ho, Ho, Ho
coming from the direction of the front of the hall and there was
Santa – in all his splendour – descending the stairs into the
hall, followed by one of his Elves. This of course caused a
stampede of the rest of the children to the front of the stage,
where they jostled for a favourable position, as close as
possible to Santa’s throne. Since there were about 40 of them
this was not always easy.
Meanwhile helpers from the Ladies’ Auxiliary had also brought
little wagons with the gifts and other sundries to the stage and
Santa could now call out the name of the child whose present he
was handed. The response was almost immediate by most children –
a little hesitant by some – but with help of some of the adults
they survived the ordeal.
Obviously, for the kids, the next step was to open their
presents and to start to play with them.
 One little lady had received a box that was almost as big as she
was, but with some help managed to get it open. To her delight
it contained a big, beautiful, large-eyed doll. She immediately
fell in love with it, hugged it and ignored everything else
around her for a while.
Watching such an experience made all the efforts worthwhile.
Thanks Boe and Guy, and thanks to all the helpers that made this
event possible. r.k.a.
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