Santa comes into play quite a bit earlier in the Swiss tradition. December 6th to be exact...so we had a very exciting visit at our home this evening! Santa comes and tells the child things that they've been doing well and whether they've been naughty or nice. They then get a bag of treats, containing mandarins, peanuts, gingerbread (Lebkuchen), and chocolates. Normally, Santa is accompanied by a nasty man called "Schmutzli" which means something like "dirty little man" and he takes care of the naughty kids. We skip that since we have an angelic child and because Schmutzli is just plain creepy. :-) Also, presents aren't brought by Santa on Christmas Eve in Switzerland, but by the "Christkindli" or the Christ Child (nevermind the logistics of that). We get around this at our place by explaining that Santa and his reindeer make an exception (and a big detour) to come twice a year to the homes of little American kids....both the 6th and 24th of December. Ah, speaking of Christmas, we are in the midst of a major prehistoric phase over here!! Anyone bearing gifts relating to dinosaurs, saber-tooths, or mammoths will be a bit hit with a certain blond 4 year old! Hint, hint...
Santa comes into play quite a bit earlier in the Swiss tradition. December 6th to be exact...so we had a very exciting visit at our home this evening! Santa comes and tells the child things that they've been doing well and whether they've been naughty or nice. They then get a bag of treats, containing mandarins, peanuts, gingerbread (Lebkuchen), and chocolates. Normally, Santa is accompanied by a nasty man called "Schmutzli" which means something like "dirty little man" and he takes care of the naughty kids. We skip that since we have an angelic child and because Schmutzli is just plain creepy. :-) Also, presents aren't brought by Santa on Christmas Eve in Switzerland, but by the "Christkindli" or the Christ Child (nevermind the logistics of that). We get around this at our place by explaining that Santa and his reindeer make an exception (and a big detour) to come twice a year to the homes of little American kids....both the 6th and 24th of December. Ah, speaking of Christmas, we are in the midst of a major prehistoric phase over here!! Anyone bearing gifts relating to dinosaurs, saber-tooths, or mammoths will be a bit hit with a certain blond 4 year old! Hint, hint...
1 comment:
holy cow! i just googled Schmutzli, he is creepy. I think Krampus [austria] or the *not making this up* DEVIL [Czech and Slovak traditions] could give him a run for his money.
almost as scary as a day after christmas sale here.
Post a Comment