Thursday, January 1, 2009

Holiday Festivities without End

My lack of posting is due to an interminable holiday season, beginning with American Christmas with my Peace Corps friends and extending through New Year's, Orthodox Christmas (January 7th) and 'Old' New Year's (based on the old calendar) on the 13th.

Midway through, and I am already exhausted. Wish me luck.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Gaudeamus igitur.......!
What a way to celebrate diversity.
For good measure I always throw in a good bonfire for the solstice to help dim bright lights of commercialism.
Growing up in a very protestant city in a very catholic Bavaria, we were not allowed a Saint Nick, but we had Saint Martin. He came on November 11, (which is also the official start of the Carneval season) with his trusted servant Knecht Ruprecht (the one who had a hunched back and took the bad publicity the not so good kids).
Advent followed with wreath and four consecutive candles for each week; on the eve of the 24th came the Kristkindl and, only then, the lighted tree.
Of course we needed 2 days to celebrate( 25th and 26th).
"Silvester" (New Years Eve ) comes with great fireworks, Feuerzangen Bohle (flaming champaigne punch) and possibly "The Fledermaus".
The "Three Wise Kings" Caspar, Melchior and Baltasar have their own holiday on Jan 6.
On we go with Carneval culminating on Fat Tuesday and decending into the political Ash Wednesday.
Make sure to enlighten us, in the somewhat 'mens sana' deficient general direction of the rising sun, about your Carneval experiences; you are just a few waves away from Venice: the world needs more masquarades.....