My First German Holiday: Traditions and “Aufpeppen”

Finding My Feet in Berlin

Okay, so it’s been six months since I moved to Berlin from… well, let’s just say a place where Christmas is very different. Honestly, the first few weeks were a blur of trying to navigate the U-Bahn, ordering coffee (still messing up the pronunciation of “Latte!” – Latte, bitte!), and feeling incredibly lost, both literally and figuratively. But, slowly, things are starting to feel… manageable. I’m working as a freelance translator, which is good, and I’ve even started to make a few friends, though it’s definitely a process of getting to know people. The language is tough, I’m not going to lie. There are days when I feel like I’m just throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping some of it sticks.

Talking Traditions with Sarah

Yesterday, I was chatting with Sarah, a colleague from work. She was telling me about her family’s traditions, and it made me think about how different things are back home. It started with a classic German greeting: Hallo! Wie geht es dir heute? Mir geht es gut, danke! Und dir? Mir geht’s auch gut. It’s such a warm way to start a conversation.

She said, “Ich habe gerade über unsere Familientraditionen nachgedacht. Ach, ja! Das ist doch immer ein schönes Thema. Ich denke, wir alle haben doch unsere eigenen, besonderen Rituale.” (I was just thinking about our family traditions. Oh, yes! It’s always a nice topic. I think we all have our own special rituals.)

And then she told me about her family’s Silvester (New Year’s Eve) tradition. It was really interesting! “Meine Familie hat zum Beispiel immer am Silvesterabend Brezeln mit Butter gegessen, bevor wir in die Uhr schauten.” (My family always eats pretzels with butter before watching the clock). She said it was sehr gemütlich (very cozy!). I’d never heard of that! Back home, we were having fancy canapés – not quite the same vibe.

My Family’s Christmas – A Little Bit Different

I explained a bit about my family’s Christmas. “Bei uns im Kreis gibt es zwar keine so spezifische Ritze, aber wir feiern Weihnachten immer mit einem gemeinsamen Abendessen und dem Beschenken der Kinder. Das ist doch toll!” (In my area there isn’t a so specific ritual, but we always celebrate Christmas with a family dinner and giving presents to the children. That’s great!)

It’s pretty standard, really. We also do the whole Easter thing – “An Ostern backen wir Ostereier, und an Geburtstagen singen wir Geburtstagslied!” (On Easter we bake Easter eggs, and on birthdays we sing birthday songs!). It’s sweet, but I’ve been trying to “aufpeppen” (to spruce up, to add a little extra something) our celebrations.

Adding a Little Extra

I told Sarah, “Das klingt schön einfach, aber wir versuchen, die Feiertage ein bisschen aufzupeppen, zum Beispiel mit einem besonderen Gericht oder einer kleinen Aktivität. Das ist eine gute Idee!” (That sounds nice and simple, but we try to spruce up the holidays a bit, for example, with a special dish or a little activity. That’s a good idea!).

We decided to try something. I’m planning a small, themed Christmas Eve dinner – something a little more sophisticated than just pasta! I was thinking maybe a roasted chicken with some root vegetables. And for Sarah’s birthday, we were going to try to find a local Christmas market and have Glühwein (mulled wine).

Small Mistakes, Big Learning

Of course, it’s not all smooth sailing. I had a complete disaster trying to order Eis (ice cream) the other day. I wanted a Vanilleeis mit Sahne (vanilla ice cream with cream), but I accidentally said “Vanilleeis mit Schuss!” (Vanilleeis mit Schuss! – vanilla ice cream with a shot!), which, apparently, is a very different thing! The guy behind the counter looked completely bewildered! Luckily, Sarah was there to translate and smooth things over. It’s moments like that that really highlight how different things are, but they’re also a good reminder to keep practicing!

Learning Phrases – Useful Words

Here are a few phrases that I’m working on:

• Hallo! Wie geht es dir heute? – Hello! How are you today?
• Mir geht es gut, danke! – I’m fine, thank you!
• Und dir? – And you?
• Ich verstehe nicht. – I don’t understand.
• Könntest du das bitte wiederholen? – Could you please repeat that?
• Aufpeppen – To spruce up, to add a little extra something.
• Brezeln mit Butter – Pretzels with butter.
• Glühwein – Mulled Wine

It’s a slow process, but I’m starting to feel a bit more confident. Das freut mich! (That makes me happy!) Next up: learning how to say “please” and “thank you” correctly! Wish me luck!