Swiss Family Stice: It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

    Switzerland does not have Black Friday. So, how, you may ask, do the Swiss start gearing up for Christmas? Well, here in St. Gallen, the big intro to the Christmas season appears to be the lighting of the stars in the old town market area.
I had seen advertisements for the event on the bus- it was all in German so I was only guessing at what the event was, but I was pretty much right.
   The kids and I met Kenny downtown at the bus stop for the major shopping area. We then ate out at an Italian restaurant we found when the Grandmas were here. This was no easy feat and I was reminded why we don't do that more often. I think the staff took pity on us (or on themselves) and served us very quickly.
   We then made our way to Vadianplatz. There was a brass quartet playing and Samichlaus (Santa Claus - Saint Nicholas) and his "friend," Schmutzli, talking with children that came up to them. At first it seemed that these guys were avoiding us. Maybe hearing our English and not wanting to mess with the language barrier, or maybe because we were obvious Auslanders (foreigners). By the time I had mentally given up on getting their attention, they turned to us and spoke with our children- they both had a little English - and gave the kids some peanuts.

The peanuts are in the bag. And Santa is handing out coupons for free drinks

Just a closer look at the twig-broom the guy in black is carrying.

The peanut offering.

So you can see that the dress is not the same as the American version of Santa. Similar, but still pretty different. And we definitely had no idea who the character in black was when we first saw them. When I told the men we were unfamiliar with this guy, they explained that he was Samichlaus' friend. And the definitely wanted to use the word "friend." Well, if you look up this character on wikipedia, he's not so friendly. I'll have to ask about the local tradition surrounding this guy, but wikipedia talks about him taking away gifts if children misbehave. I'll let you know what I learn.

    Back to the Lights. So, at 7pm, a government guy got up on a little stage and pushed a button and the lights began flashing to a Christmas soundtrack. The flashing was just for one song and then they all lit up.
     Another Christmas event here is outdoor shopping stalls. Weihnachtmarkt, if I remember the spelling correctly. Seems to be similar to the booths that get set up in the Village Square Mall around Christmas time- I haven't seen any crafty type stuff yet, but it really doesn't work for me to peruse for very long. Just a handful of sidelong glances as we march past, lest a child become bored or lost. (Which can be the same thing.) The stalls are indoor also, but far be it for the Swiss to shy away from doing something outdoors, even in freezing temps and a foot of snow. (That's about where we are as of Monday evening, Dec. 3)
    Friday morning I had the opportunity to speak with the mom of one of Jackson's classmates. She told me that Samichlaus only visits the evening of December 5 (The Feast of St. Nicholas is Dec. 6) and Dec. 24/25 is only the celebration of the birth of Christ. Santa doesn't come on a sleigh with reindeer, either. I like the way they do this. Keep a little bit of the magic of Santa, but this allows a greater focus on Christ at Christmas.
    Advent is really big here, too. You can find all kinds of Advent calendars. It's definitely a cultural thing, not just religious. I've seen several toy company sponsered ones- like Legos. I watched a weather report on a local channel and instead of printing the date for Sunday's forcast, they had 1. Advent. found the cutest mini Advent wreath. We can only leave the candles lit while we pray or they will be completely gone in a day, but I'm glad to have it.

In my last post I told you about our hike up to Solitude in 50 degree weather. This Sunday we hiked up Solitude in below freezing temps and a crazy amount of snow on the ground. That's the difference a week can make.

Jo, getting a lift home. She's in a no daddy phase, so Kenny was astounded at her willingness to be so close. I think she even willingly gave hugs and smooches.