Froeliche Wienachten
By
Alfred Opp
My childhood memory is
that my parents set up a Christmas tree in our house every year in
Teplitz, Bessarabia and so also did my Grandparents in their house.
In Bessarabia we had no forests of any kind. From what I have read
and also been told, in the early days people with means pooled their
money together and persons were chosen who then traveled to Odessa
to purchase Christmas trees. Once Bessarabia became part of Romania
(1918), trees for Christmas were brought in to Teplitz from
Siebenbuergen in Romania.
Christmas was always a
special time for us and followed the well preserved customs of the
traditional fest. In our family, especially at my Grandparents'
house, Christmas time started on December 6th with the celebration
of Nicolaus Tag. Not every home celebrated this, but for me it was a
special day to remember. Dressed in a Bishop's garb, Saint Nicolaus
was so kind and giving. We had to recite a prayer or sing a song to
please the Saint who always gave us an apple and cookies in a
colorful bag. One has to remember that getting apples in December
was rare, so for us this was a real treat. For us kids the weeks
leading up to Christmas were wonderful as we watched mother baking
Christmas treats and both our parents working behind the scenes to
get everything ready.
We were not allowed to see the Christmas tree until 8 PM on
Christmas Eve. Oh, was the waiting long! When mother finally opened
the door to the parlor the sight and the smell of the candles was
heavenly. Mom and Dad, along with our Grandparents took a seat by
the tree to sing Christmas carols. Then came "Pelzamerde" with a rod
to remind us kids to be brave and obedient to our parents. "Oh yes,
we were 'Pelzamerde' very well now! Let me hear you say a
Gedichtchen (verse) to me." So many times I got stuck on reciting
the verse because of excitement. "Your grandparents told me that you
behaved, and that was good, now I give you a gift for being a good
boy."
After he left, one called "Christkindle" came. She usually was
played by my Aunt Maria. She was so sweet, covered in a veil, and
she gave us kids sweets to eat. After that it was time to focus on
the gifts underneath the tree. Our gifts were wrapped - wealthy
parents used fancy paper and poorer families might only have brown
paper, but the excitement was the same in all families. We first
opened up the packages that didn't feel like socks!
In
our family, we didn't have the luxury of receiving expensive gifts
as there wasn't enough money to go around. I remember getting a
flashlight once. Was I happy! In appreciating little we were rich.
I wish everybody out there a Merry Christmas.
From Alfred Opp in British Columbia
Edited by Connie
Dahlke