SILENT NIGHT …

… holy night … and a very merry Christmas to all of you! As usual, I’ve tried to avoid listening to this famous Austrian Christmas song as best I could, even covering my ears with my hands when it was played somewhere. Like the incapable brass players right in front of my bedroom window in early November – yes, early November! Once again, I had to endure some of those horrible wanna-be musicians just because I’m living in a pedestrian street. It seems the worst musicians are assembled in the town I reside in. Like this one guy who is hollering Sinatra’s “New York, New York” ten times in a row. Or the weird Muslim woman screeching whining stuff … euw. Oops, that’s not the topic here, right?

So why? I mean, why do I avoid this song? It’s another family tradition. My mum didn’t want to hear it until Christmas Eve when we were all assembled in front of our Christmas tree and Dad hit PLAY at the cassette deck for it to start. (Yep, later we did have CDs too!) And, as usual, we always became emotional … once, we celebrated in Styria with my aunt, uncle, granny and Aunt Do, my uncle had prepared the wrong side of the cassette and we had to wait until it had been rewound to the correct side … which was quite hilarious and lightened the mood consideringly, since usually some melancholy was not far away.

Today, I will spend the day just like the past two years. Starting the day with a nice breakfast, taking care of the few preparations for my evening fondue and hoping for my special friend to find a few minutes to see me. And just like the past two years I started collecting my Amazon orders early on, so I will be busy with my gifts to myself after my Fondue feast, the crying to “Silent night, holy night” and looking at the real burning candles on my fake tree with my cat. I will probably watch one of the 50s Sisi movies with Romy Schneider while enjoying my gifts and talk to my family on the phone in between. Of course, my tomcat will also receive gifts. From myself and my aunt also ordered me to get something for him, especially wiring money for my cat’s Christmas gift. Which I then immediately ordered from Amazon.

Christmas gifts for my cat? Crazy? Maybe! But that’s another family tradition. Our beloved pets in the family – beagle Xavi (Xavier in his certificate) and cat Schlappi (as a kitten his ears were drooping) – always received gifts at Christmas, Easter and also when we came to visit. Mostly dog and cat treats, and at special occasions they were wrapped just like the gifts for the rest of us. Oh … those happy memories of past Christmases with my family. All gone apart from my mother’s sister … luckily, I still have her and a few other relatives, scattered across Austria. 

Anyway, I intend to enjoy my Christmas holidays and wish you all a great Christmas time!

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