Monday, December 24, 2012

Santa in Switzerland



Well, truth be told there isn’t one. Well at least not the roly poly ho ho ho ing Santa from the north pole that slides down chimneys on Christmas eve. There is of course, Samichlaus who comes in from the forest on December the 6th and rings the doorbell. He is really St. Nicholas, the Bishop of Myra and the patron saint of Children. His presents are always small : chocolates, nuts, oranges. He is sometimes accompanied by his friend; a soot covered figure called Schmutzli who it is said chastises kids who have been bad. Well, actually it is assumed that all children will have been a little good and a little bad and this is the time of the year they are rewarded for the good, take stock of their not so good and promise to try harder the next year.  Santa decorations are not seen often, and the ones I saw, the Santa was always lean, carries a backpack rather than a sac and is clambering in through a balcony or window rather than a chimney. 

Santa making somewhat precarious attempts to get in through the windows
Montreaux Christmas market

What is perhaps most striking is the relative absence of a commercial Christmas. Here it is not about  mega malls outdoing each other with the largest and brightest and fanciest glitz, not about retail frenzy, but about street markets selling local goods and lots of food.


It’s less about over the top celebrations and extravaganza and more about people retreating into family mode. It’s more about carols, mulled wine (always plenty of that), cookies, communities and Christmas traditions.


nativity scene at our local library
  
Muted, mellow ……………and as you sit in picture postcard Montreaux with the ethereal lake framed by snow capped mountains, the smell of cinnamon cookies wafting by, faint strains of church bells in the distance and as you chance upon a mother sitting with a glass of mulled wine huddled up to a toddler eating roasted chestnuts both listening to a grandfatherly man narrating a French Christmas story, the mellifluous French not needing to be understood to grasp its meaning……………….. you do not need to be Swiss, you do not need to be religious, you do not need to be Christian, you do not need to be a child ……….for those few moments, despite the incredibly troubled world we live in, you cannot but believe in magic, in humanity, in hope.  The hope that perhaps the Samichlaus in us can take precedence over the Schmutzli. 




Season's Greetings to all. 

9 comments:

  1. Lovely, Bela. Thank you.

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  2. Delightful!Brought out nostalgic memories of the festival of lights here.Oil lamps,flower decorations,the melodius tunes of shehanai and home-made pastries and sweets.Thank you for bringing the real X'mas to us mai

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  3. Thanks for telling me that Santa doesn't fly around the world propelled by reindeer. You have single handedly ruined my desire to stay good all year. Maybe that's why there were no gifts under my non-existant tree. Oops, I'm Jewish. By the way, Schmutz in yiddish means dirt.

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    1. Wow i didn't know Schmutz was a yiddish word .......


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  4. wonderful! wonderful! very heart warming.

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  5. Brought back memories for me too. My first look and many visits to that market was from Dec 2002... Happy to know it's still just as I remember it.. Mmm Mulled Wine... :) Just found your blog..

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    1. Indeed hope it retains its old world charm for many more years ......

      Thanks for coming to the blog and do keep reading!

      i just had a look at yours and some of your very old posts about when you were in Switzerland ......

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  6. just when I started to enjoy the exotic taste of Tristan chocolates,the theory exploded in my face that by consuming lots of chocolates,one betters one's chances of winning a Nobel prize.I,too, am running to a chocolate factory.Who knows I may be the one to prove the truth of the theory

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