DEC. 18, 1964
Ursula tells of christmas in her country
About two weeks before Christmas my parents close up the family room and prepare everything for the feast in there. Because my little brother still believes that a real Santa Claus exists, we always tell him that angels are flying around this time of year. It is funny to watch how friendly he tries to be.
In the afternoon of the 24th, the whole family sits around the table, with only a candle as a light. We eat the German "Stollen" made by my mother, until a little bell from Santa Claus (it really hangs around one of my father's legs) calls us.
We can then open the big curtain that separated us from that mysterious room for so long. My little brother and sister
Under the tree stands a very old manger without which Christmas wouldn't be a complete feast. Until my father allows us to go to the table where our presents have been put, we look at the tree quietly.
Later we distribute our pres-ents for the family with a little poem which rhymes, more or less. At midnight my parents, my sister, and I go to church. There too we have a fir tree, sometimes even with burning candles on it. It is beautiful to see the candles burning in the window on the way back.