On Tuesday night, I opened my home for the neighbourhood, participating in the "Living Advent Calendar" that is organized for my part of town from one of the church communities. I am not a member of that curch, but I like the idea of it: Each of the days from the 1st of December to Christmas Eve, just like you would open a little door on an Advent calendar, you can visit a family, company or other venue. You are not told what it is about beforehand, just like you don't know what you'll find behind the door fo the calendar. The address is given, and the time, that's all. For instance, the school library hosts such an event; a local wine trader, an organization that helps single parents in need, and several families open their yards or even houses to anyone who wishes to attend.
Two years ago, my parents took me along to one such event. The family who had bought my Grandma's house from us had a fire going (in a very safe iron fire basket) in their back garden, served hot tea and cookies, and we were all gathering around the fire to sing a few Christmas songs and listen to a Christmas poem the hostess read. I didn't know anyone there apart from, obviously, my parents and the hostess, and I really enjoyed the friendly atmosphere. That made me want to try this myself, and the following year - i.e. last year - I hosted my own little Advent Calendar evening for the first time (no fire in my living room, don't worry!). So, that was Tuesday.
On Thursday night, my Mum and I went to a concert of our favourite live band, Cobario. I have mentioned them before on my blog, and you can watch a video of one of their live performances at Ludwigsburg's International Street Music Festival here:
Last week's concert was, of course, not in the park, but in the beautiful Music Hall in our town. Some good pictures from both inside and outside the hall can be found here.
This festive setting demanded a matching outfit, but since I was working all day and going to the concert directly from work with no time to change in between, I had to wear something suitable for both the office and the concert hall. Here is my choice:
On Friday night, my girlfriends were coming over for our annual Schrottwichteln. I've described the event here already, so won't go into all the detail again. Let it suffice to say that we had so much fun I was slightly worried about my downstairs neighbours (I talked to them the next day, and they assured me that it had only been "a little" noisy!).
Saturday was spent quietly, catching up on sleeping, cleaning, washing, ironing, reading, writing and playing.
On Sunday, I went to my parents' for a cosy Advent afternoon with coffee, homemade cake & Christmas cookies, and board games.
If I were to do "Thankful Thursday" posts like some of you, I'd have certainly more than enough reasons to be thankful!
I like the idea of the Living Advent Calendar - just wondering how many people may be (or are actually) involved? Did it get crowded??
ReplyDeleteThe number of people depends on how well known/popular a venue is. For instance, where we went to 2 years ago, it was really full of people, because the hosting family had told all their friends and neighbours about it. My event was very small; although it was advertised by the church and these events are always mentioned beforehand in Ludwigsburg's daily paper, there were only six of us (last week I think there were 8). I don't specifically invite for it, since it is a "committment-free" thing, more spontaneous.
DeleteMy topic was, by the way, "Advent and Christmas in England and Germany", about what they have in common and what the differences are. My handful of guests really liked it!
What a great idea :)
ReplyDeleteIt's nice, isn't it? I am not sure yet whether I will go to any of the other events; they are often rather early, before 5.00 pm, which is impossible for me to make on a normal working day.
DeleteWhat an interesting idea this living Advent Calendar is! I think you were very brave to participate. Maybe they should try to schedule these events a little later so people with a normal workday might attend. You did have a lovely week, Meike!
ReplyDeleteBrave? Why?
DeleteIt is impossible to accomodate everyone's schedules; offering events a little later means that families with small children won't attend, because they want to be home by dinner time.
Yes, I did have a lovely week, Kristi!
The fire sounds pretty and practical too. We have had record breaking cold here, and even with wool coats and hoods, its difficult to know what to add, but a pair of lined woolen gloves saved me last night. Now if I could of warmed myself in front of a fire, and with something hot to drink; heaven!
ReplyDeleteQuite the contrary, we are experiencing a rather mild spell with temperatures being of an almost spring-like 8 Celsius during the day, and plenty of sun. Nights are cold, though, and I make sure to wrap up warmly every time I leave the house, too.
DeleteYou really do the most interesting things! I absolutely love the idea of the Advent real doors. Whoever thought it up is a genius. Love your outfits, too!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Nan! I like it that I have so many different possibilities to spend an evening at my fingertips, living in a town (and close to its center, too) that offers so much. I do like my quiet nights in, too, but I love having lots of stuff to look forward to.
DeleteNot sure who started the Advent thing here; I know it's a "churchy" thing, but very much in touch with real people and real lives.
I think that's one of the best 'churchy' (for want of a better adjective which escapes me) ideas I've heard of for a very long time. One of the things that always irritated me about Christmas time was the fact that most people lost sight of what it was supposed to be about and what it has become is completely irrelevant to me.
ReplyDeleteYes, that losing sight of what Christmas is about - or the shifting of what it is about nowadays, i.e. profit - bothers me, too. And I honestly don't understand why people who so obviously dislike the whole thing still go along with it, instead of standing up for themsevles and saying I've had enough, I'm not "doing" Christmas anymore. All that "stress" in the weeks leading up to Christmas is home-made and unnecessary. Point made, rant over!
DeleteIt's actually very difficult to ignore Christmas entirely and stand up and say I'm not 'doing' Christmas any more. Not in theory perhaps but certainly in practice. It's difficult to face the accusation of being mean if you don't give presents (even though, in my case, I'm very happy to give presents randomly and spontaneously) particularly where youngsters are involved. I don't 'do' Christmas in that I don't decorate the house and big turkey dinners are not the order of the day with The Family anyway. It's more likely to be a BBQ. You do have a very straightforward and honest approach to things Meike which I admire but which I am ashamed to say I do not have the courage to follow. What puzzles me, though, is the large number of people I know who neither have any belief in Christmas as a religious festival nor like the fuss and commercialisation but who nevertheless lack the same courage that I lack.
DeleteHard to say why people really do all that if they don't enjoy it, Graham. Maybe it is our innate "herd animal" instinct that makes us such easy prey to "peer pressure", maybe there actually IS some secret enjoyment in the whole thing in spite of people claiming otherwise?
DeleteI have clashed with family members over decisions I made in the past, and will probably do so in the future, but I am still here, and so are they - and we still love each other. For instance, it was considered a minor scandal when one year I decided to celebrate my birthday a day early: on the Sunday istead of the Monday, because I knew I was going to work late that Monday and wouldn't feel like having guests in the evening. Also, the questions of whose parties to attend, whom to invite to my own parties etc. have been reasons for criticism, but I can live with that. In the end it is me, my time, my energy which is involved, and I do not need to justify my decisions before anyone but myself. Don't get me wrong - I do not go out deliberately to offend or hurt anyone. But I have become rather good at looking after myself. I am a confessing full-time egoist.