Mt. Angel Strassenfest - Streetfair July 11, 2009

Mount Angel Celebrates Oregon's 150^th Birthday with an "Old World" Strassenfest (Street Fair) this Saturday, July 11. Enjoy a wide variety of activities from 11 AM to 4 PM. Don't miss out on any of the fun.

11AM Dedication of Oktoberfest village entry signs – corner Wilco Highway & Academy Streets

10:30-3:30 Motorcycle Cruise-in – downtown – awards

Noon 150 Miles for 150 Years – races arrive – sausage time

Noon-4PM Historic Display at Mount Angel Library

Noon-4PM Scavenger Hunt – prizes

1PM Accordions at the Gazebo

2PM Bonnet and Dress Fashion Show at the Gazebo

3PM Square Dancers on Garfield Street

ON GOING EVENTS

Ø Merchant Street Sales

Ø Sausages & other treats

Ø Woodcarving demonstrations

Ø Coloring books for the kids

Ø Glockenspiel performances

Ø Old time music

Ø 150 Specials at restaurants & pubs

Info Booth in front of City Hall

All I want is a Weihnachtsmarkt in Portland :)...

We were in Chicago over the weekend and went to the Weihnachtsmarkt. Chicago has had a Weihnachtsmarkt since 1996 (when we still lived there) and I have not been back in years. What a fantastic event! It has grown beautifully, there are suppliers from all over Germany and the mood is just like at any Weihnachtsmarkt. Wouldn't it be great to have a Weihnachtsmarkt similar to that here? Here is the link...http://www.christkindlmarket.com/

Things to do this weekend in Portland, 12/6/2008 - German Holiday Event

Are you ready for some more German holiday fun, something to get you and your family in the spirit of the season? This weekend is the German Holiday Bazaar of the Kinderschule in Portland. We went last year and the kids had so much fun. Last year there was a Nikolaus which was fantastic. This year's schedule looks like there will be a lot of music, and singing. Sing-along for the children, as well as songs performed by the children of the Kinderschule. See you all there.

More info under http://www.portlandkinderschule.com/

Adventszeit - time before Christmas...

I really like fall, and ever since we have kids I love the Adventszeit. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advent This is the time when we prepare for Christmas. I make an advents wreath (see picture) and light the candles accordingly. Today we lighted the first candle.

This year we started the season the day after Thanksgiving . Alena and I made stars out of craft foil. Gold, purple, pink (of course :) ) green, sliver...just wonderful. Yesterday I made the first batch of cookies so at least we have some for our afternoon tea. OK - afternoon tea we only have during the Adventszeit. On weekdays I take some time, make tea, eat cookies and sing Christmas songs with the girls. Oh, and yes I have also taken out all of our Christmas books and stories. Tomorrow (on December 1st) I will hang up the Adventskalender (advents calendar for the girls. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advent_calendar They also sell them in stores here in the States but they all seem to be filled with milk chocolate. Our girls cannot have milk I therefore make my own and they will get a little present every day until Christmas.

Oh, there is one thing that is very different to me living here in the States and that is the Christmas tree. When I grew up the Christmas tree went up on Christmas Eve. My parents decorated it and it was this huge secret what it would look like :) I now compromise. We get our tree in mid December and all of us decorate. More about Christmas later...

Laternenfest

Yesterday we held our third annual Laternenfest at our house.

What is a Laternenfest? - It is one of my fondest childhood memories. What is a Lanternenfest. It is a procession as soon as it gets dark of children carrying Laternen along with adults. Everybody is singing "Laternensongs". Here is a link to a Laternenfest I found on YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WY0GUAyRNjI. The Laternen are generally handmade. In the video on YouTube it looks like the kids made them in Kindergarten (Pre-school), we made ours in the Spielgruppen, and at home. As for historic relevance the procession is to honor St. Martin. Here is the link explaining a little more about it on Wikipedia. The entry states that children go door to door - I am not familiar with that part of the tradition http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Martin%27s_Day

We had about 70 children and adults for our Laternenfest. People started coming over starting at 4:30 and we started the procession around 6 PM. It was a pot-luck. I had made Chili, Weckenmaenner. We had home-made Gluehwein....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gluehwein. Prior to the procession everybody hung out at house. Yup, 70 people. Let me tell you that no heat was needed. We actually had to open windows as they steamed up.

Our procession was wonderful. We walked through our neighborhood here in SE PDX, it did NOT rain, and sang our songs. Our neighbors were wondering what we were doing...so close after Halloween. So much fun. The lanterns showed us the way, and we sure were able to be heard throughout the neighborhood. Some people left after the procession, the rest of us hung out at our house. The kids played hard, and the adults enjoyed each others companies. I know that I had a ton of fun.

Fall - my favorite season

Fall is my favorite season. Here in the United States it starts with decorating for Halloween, carving pumpkins, getting costumes for the kids etc. I just LOVE it. Have I mentioned that I love orange :) - I have heard that kids now also go "Trick or Treating" in Germany but are asking for money. This is a little different to me. I would love to hear how Halloween is celebrated in Germany. Let me know. Write a comment, or drop me a line.

After Halloween it is time for all of our GREAT German customs, and festivities. We start out with the Laternenlauf for St. Martin's Day. To learn more about St. Martin's Day check out Wikipidea at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Martin's_Day. We already made our Laternen at Spielgruppe for the big day. If you would like to know how to make your own Laternen check out the following web-site. There are fantastic links. One caveat so, I am not a very crafty person, and I was able to make great Laternen - http://www.martin-von-tours.de/laternen/laternenbasteln/index.html (the links for the different types are to the left hand side)

So what do we do with our Laternen? We learn songs, and then we walk as close to November 11th as possible with our lit Laternen through the neighborhood. We (Spielgruppe) have gathered for the last three years at hour house. Walk through the neighborhood with our Laternen, sing songs, and afterwards hang out at my house for a pot-luck. The neighbors were all very surprised...but it is SO much FUN for the kids. Oh, yes I do admit this, for myself as well :)

Have fun...Let me know what you are doing for St. Martin's Tag. Are you familiar with this custom? What songs do you sing?