These last days before Christmas can be frantic for families.  Or they may bring much-needed peace, as the string of holiday concerts and parties winds down.  The focus finally can shift to the family and to activities under one’s own roof.

The first Christmas I spent in Germany in 1981 taught me so much about “gearing down.”  I was in the midst of a research grant to the former U.S.S.R at the Leningrad Conservatory.  To my surprise, I received a holiday travel visa and found myself in the Christmas wonderland of (then) West Germany, in the town of Limburg.

I woke up on the next day (Christmas Eve) eager to hit the stores and see the last-minute excitement.  Except there was none.  Oh, a straggler or two in the shops, and a handful of intent shoppers in the grocery store.  But, by and large, everyone was at home, doing things that impressed me, like stuffing a goose!  And placing real candles on the trees.  Errands like shopping had been concluded by the previous day.  Why would anyone waste a minute of Christmas Eve’s magic in a store, I was told.

The biggest shock came when I realized that any store not already closed was shutting its doors at noon.  Noon!  Can you imagine that?  Compare that to an American mall at noon on Christmas Eve.

I’ve tried to remember that lesson.  Grocery and other stores in Germany are usually closed a full 2 ½ days at Weihnacht (Christmas).  So, people plan ahead.  Imagine!  Considering how complex the traditional meals are that many families still serve, that’s a lot of planning.  But people have been doing it for centuries.  Foremost in their minds is achieving that respite, that break from the bustle, and a sense of quiet and peace.

A wonderful relief comes from turning your activities to the circle around your family, knowing there’s nowhere to go beyond church or visiting family and friends.  It’s the principal thing my family loves about spending Christmas in Germany whenever we can.

In the spirit of that hush, I want to post a lovely clip of a Christmas Eve pageant held in the Jakobskirche (Jacob Church) in Weimar.  All of you who have been with me to study in Germany know this church and its history well.  In fact, some of you have performed in it, or participated in special class sessions on German church music history.

Dating back to the 1180s, the Jakobskirche is the oldest church in Weimar.  It has a rich Medieval and Renaissance history.  But perhaps it’s best known for serving as a hospital at the 1806 Battle of Jena during the Napoleonic Wars.  The balconies you’ll see in the Christmas Eve video, filled with eager families gazing down on their costumed children, were the very places wounded German and French soldiers lay in agony.

That’s the real value of history, isn’t it?  Something we study that shines with beauty may have a complex and difficult history.  When we know that history, the power of its message shines clearer to us.

So join me on December 24th for this peek into a German Christmas pageant.  I promise to get it posted before noon!