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.
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| Santa making somewhat precarious attempts to get in through the windows |
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| 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.
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| 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.
