Children in Austria are not waiting for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve, they are waiting for the Christ Child instead, guided by little sweet angels with silver wings.
I remember when I was a child, my siblings and I sat in
the kitchen, helping our mother to prepare the chocolate decoration for the
tree. She told us Christmas tales, we were listening, were all excited and
could not wait to walk into the living room, where the Christmas tree and all our
presents would be.
The fire crackled in the old wood stove and made us
feel warm and cosy. My mother put a few fir tree twigs on the top and in
the oven she put a pan with some apples to roast. That fragrance was so wonderful! The scent of
Christmas, I will never forget!
We waited impatiently for the little Christmas bell
to ring, as soon as we heard the gentle tinkling chime, we walked in order, from the smallest to the tallest child, into the living room. Our eyes got
big when we saw the beautiful decorated Christmas tree, glittering and shimmering, with
lots of burning candles between the branches, underneath laid out the presents
for every good child.
Some of us said little poems, others read a brief
Christmas tale, subsequently we sang “Silent Night, Holy Night......”. I remember my
dad’s deep voice, when he joined in and my mum’s lovely gentle smile and her
loving eyes, when she saw our faces radiant with joy.
This year my parents will look down to us from
heaven and they will be there with us in our hearts and memories, when we
celebrate the “Birth of our Lord Jesus”.
HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE!
FROHE WEIHNACHTEN!
NOLLAIG SHONA DUIT (Irish Gaelic)
FROHE WEIHNACHTEN!
NOLLAIG SHONA DUIT (Irish Gaelic)
Margit Anna Doyle
