Christmas in Germany

The Schruhl family made my holidays away from home very comfortable. In Germany Christmas is celebrated on the 24th. We spent the day preparing for a huge multi-coarse meal and setting up the Christmas tree we had cut down earlier in the month. In the evening we went to an interdenominational church service in the city's Dom (largest church and gathering hall). We came home as is tradition to find presents under the tree and all of the candles lit (in Germany it is common to use real candles on the tree, but we just had electric ones which liked like candels in the stands). I received a pair of dancing shoes for salsa class (as there was an incident earlier this month where my strappy heels went flying across the dance floor). I gave the family a Celestial Tea's gift pack, a book of Colorado, a gold dipped aspen leaf, and some other treats form the states. On the 25th we had another large lunch of turkey (approx. 12 lbs.) with extended family. Christmas in Germany is huge as virtually all traditions and songs surrounding Christmas came from Germany. I struggle to think of anything which did nto originate here.