Frohe Weihnachten!!!!!

It is Christmas Eve.....

It is snowing......And I have some mince pies warming in the oven.......

The house is clean and sparkling....

The presents are wrapped and under the tree.....

The lights are twinkling......

We are warm and cosy......

Sigh. This is such a lovely time. I went for a walk through the village this morning, and wound up at the Kloster. The enormous beautiful, ornate Benedictine monastery which was the start of this village so many years ago. I arrived looking like the abominable snowman, and as I pushed open the heavy ancient outer door, I heard singing. The monks were having their morning prayers, and I slipped into the back of the church and sat down on a pew. There were about 4 other people scattered through the vast church, and I could not see the monks, but oh, I could hear them.

So I sat for a while and just listened, and let my thoughts focus slowly as my heartbeat slowed, on why this church was built in the first place. For whom. And when the singing stopped, and the monks slipped away, I was the only one left sitting there in the silence. It was hard to leave.

The silence was total. Complete. And it was so beautful that I wanted to cry. Peaceful. Perfect. Set apart from the hustle and bustle outside. Just me, alone in the House of God.

Here in Switzerland, like in many other countries, Christmas is celebrated on Christmas Eve. Tomorrow is a normal day. Here, Christmas is tonight. So we do a little of both. We will have our meal tonight, and open a present or two, but we will save the rest for the morning, because that is the way Mum, Marge and I celebrate Christmas. Twice, this year.

The rush before Christmas is over for me. The biscuit tins are almost empty because they have been given away, but that makes me grin. We have a few for us, enough, and I can always make more later. Now it is time to relax, listen to the carols, and sing along, while I sip my coffee.(And contemplate tracking Santa via Norad on Google, of course. Just to check he is on his way!)

Frohe Weihnachten aus den Alpen!