Only a few more hours and 2010 is over. The year 2011 is just around the corner. What will it bring for me, for you and for us. Will it be goo, will it be bad? Who knows?
The new year will lay in front of us just like a white sheet of paper waiting for to be written on. What will be written? I wish you all the very best for 2011!
So, be keen to write your own story on this sheet of paper! It’s your life and you’r the main character. Go for it!
Yes, it’s true. The current amounts of snow were not common here over the last approximately 30 years. Such snow amounts were common when I was at school. But now the city governments are not used with such conditions and have serious troubles to handle with them.
Two weeks ago it became a bit warmer and started to rain. Beside the fear of getting a green Christmas again we got very dangerous conditions on the strees because of black ice from the rain falling onto the cold frozen streets. On the other hand the rain began melting the snow.
But the next day the temperature dropped down again and it also started to snow again. Currently we have approximately 40 – 50 cm of snow laying on the ground.
Today it’s Christmas Eve. Today is the beginning of Christmas. Most offices are closed today. Shops, city malls, supermarket and grocery stores are open ’til 1 or 2 p.m and open very early in the morning (i.e. at 7 or 6 a.m. instead of 9 or 8 or 10 a.m.).
In the afternoon there are special programs for kids (and even young kids) at TV, in some cinemas and theaters to help them shorten the waiting time until the evening.
Christmas starts in most families usually at about half past 4. Many people are going to the Christmas service in one of the churches even they don’t go for any other service during the whole year (expect Easter maybe). When back from the church we usually have a special dinner. Some have a traditional dinner with potato salad and sausages or grilled duck, cooked carp. Other cook a more festive meal. After the meal everyone gets his or her gifts. When a family has small kids, they get their gifts before the meal and they are usually allowed to stay up a little longer.l
The Christmas Day (25th) is usually used for visiting relatives, like parents or grandparents. It’s a pubic holiday.
The Boxing Day (26th) is also a public holiday. It’s also often used for visiting relatives (i.e. the spouses relatives) or friends. Some people use that free day for a walk after all the good food.
During the 4 weeks before Christmas the people decorate the homes with candles, Christmas pictures, angels and other Christmas related decoration stuff as well as with an Advent wreath. It’s usually made from fir twigs and is also decorated. It also has usually 4 red candles, one for each Sunday before Christmas. At Christmas most families buy a fir and build it up as the Christmas tree where later the gifts are put under.
I wish a peaceful Christmas to you and your family.
Yeah, my first photo in a book about the beauty-ness of our region.
Photographers in our region were asked to send in photographs taken in our region. Each photographer was allowed to send in up to 6 photos in 6 categories (one in each category). More then 2.600 photographers took part.
The winners of each category got a prize and another 170 photographs got in the book, too.
The pic shows our old town during the traditional fun fair. The laundry is for decoration purposes and is also a tradition.
Unfortunately I don’t know the meaning behind, ’cause I’m not a native here in the city.