Christmas and it's Markets

Recalling this past Christmas through an e-mail sent to friends and fam:

"The Thanksgiving weekend coincides with the start of the Christmas season here. And the Christmas season is NO joke. Every town has their own Weihnachtsmarkt or Christmas Market. Our Saturday mornings are spent visiting a different Christmas market in the area. These Christmas markets are taken very seriously, with hundreds of small kiosks that are elaborately decorated for the holidays. Vendors peddle their wares: ornaments, handmade toys, jams, baked goods...sausages, krauts, biers are everywhere. A more popular drink than bier at these Christmas Markets (I know, can you believe it?) is called Gluvine. It's a tasty, hot, spiced red wine. I wasn't terribly crazy about it the first time I tried it, but this past weekend we had it from a guy that added Amaretto. Now, that was delicious. All of the markets shut down two days before Christmas. I love that they don't drag it out past the holiday. "

Christmas was an unusually quiet, simple holiday for us. We went to Mass, opened Santa and family gifts, and went on a long walk. It was the first time I experienced the pangs of homesickness. It was at the same time, a very special holiday with just the three of us; one that we will look back on fondly.