I was raised right between Italy and Austria. “So, where did you go to school,” people often asked me and my answer confused them even more. I went to school in the South of Germany, three hours away from the small village that I called home. Like life wasn’t complicated enough the way it was.
“We didn’t know.” That’s the statement I often got when I asked about Hitler. Just the ones who had helped or resisted, those were the ones who apparently had known. People like my Grandfather, who was held as a political prisoner in a concentration camp, he knew, he had seen it.
Moving to a different country, or as in my case, to a different continent, is an adventure. Everything here in the U.S. was new and a little bit overwhelming and Christmas was no exception.
Cinnamon star cookies (Zimtsterne) are a traditional part of the Holiday Season in Austria and Germany. Cinnamon and almonds taste great together; the smell of the cookie in the oven is mouthwatering. The history of the cookie is interesting as well. Cinnamon was a rare and rather expensive spice in Europe, and almonds had to be imported. Only the rich and Royals could afford both throughout the year. Ordinary people used cinnamon and almonds only for once-a-year festivals such as Christmas.
Europe was fearful. Would the triumph of the right-wing extremist continue? Anti-establishment is on the rise all over the world and it seems voters are in an unpredictable mood these days.
I think we were poor, but I really don’t know. We always had enough food, and I had clothes; we had livestock and fields with vegetables and fruits, our pantries and the cellar were stocked with jars and cans, but money was tight. Most farmers are not rich; they are just getting by, and we were no exception.
I had grown up with different traditions and I was looking forward to our first American Christmas together. It was in the 80’s and we had just gotten married a few months earlier. It was my first Christmas in America –in my new home- with the man I loved.
Playing in ice and snow is normal where I come from. We were outside kids and not even snow and freezing temperatures could change that.
We climbed up the mountains with our skies, or went for a sleigh ride on an old inner tube. We build snow walls and ramps and were dreaming of becoming famous ski jumpers, because we all had been born with skies on our feet…so they say.
A very good friend sent me a link to an article in the Huffington post today, “10 Facts to impress your bored kid while apple picking this fall,” and I had to laugh. Not a very interesting article for many, but I do remember well and the article brought back some funny memories.
Today is the last day in September and we had the first cold night. Summer is over, the winds are picking up and the October fairy is getting ready to paint all the leaves in beautiful reds and golds, so that we don’t forget why it’s called the “Golden October.”