Eighth meeting in Hervanta (16.11)
The eighth meeting consisted of a talk about our Christmas. Each country has different traditions and customs.
In both Germany and Spain it is tradition to receive gifts for your family at Christmas (night of the 24th or lunch of the 25th). It is true that in both cultures it is common to spend time with your family during these dates. We also talked about New Year’s Eve. In Germany you usually have dinner with your close people but you don’t have a party either, on the other hand, in Spain you spend that night with your friends and eat the twelve grapes.
We also talked about the number of people who come to visit Rovaniemi to meet Joulupukki. Continuing talking about Christmas, Marlen and I talked to them about the three wise men. In Germany they do not have this tradition since it is a Christian tradition. Another topic we talked about was fireworks, in Spain not everyone can set off fireworks, however in Germany any citizen is allowed to buy (also in any supermarket!). We finish by mentioning a Spanish festivity “Las fallas” in Valencia which consists of burning wooden and cardboard figures symbolizing the burning of the old to make way for the new.
It was entertaining and curious to talk about the different traditions in each place, and how we personally celebrate Christmas. And if that wasn’t enough… I learned German vocabulary: “knödels”, “rotkraut” (red cabbage), “adventskalender” (advent calendar), “adventskranz” (advent wreath), “christkind” (christian child)…
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