When I grew up in Berlin, Germany, the children’s Christmas season started with an Adventskalender (Christmas calendar or literally “advent” calendar).

Advent calendar

In those days, Christmas calendars were made from a piece of cardboard that had a paper backing. Twenty-five “windows” were cut into the winter-themed piece of cardboard. When opened, each window revealed a Christmas symbol or scene. Like other children, during the first twenty-five days of December, I was allowed to open one window each day. The window for Christmas Day was extra large and usually revealed a picture of the Nativity. Today’s Christmas calendars are often filled with chocolates or candy, and children find a sweet treat behind each window.

Advent

The Advent calendar helped me understand how close we were to Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, my two favorite days of the year. Having grown up in a secular family, I did not realize then that the true purpose of advent is to prepare for the celebration of the birth of Jesus. The word “Advent” comes from the Latin word adventus, which means “coming.” It was meant to be a religious celebration, but for me it always was a secular tradition. For information on the religious tradition visit http://www.christianity.com/christian-life/christmas/what-is-advent.html

Advent wreath

The second wonderful pre-Christmas tradition I remember from my childhood is our Advent wreath (Adventskranz). Every year on the fourth Sunday before Christmas, a wreath of simple fir branches would magically appear in our house. Its fragrant branches held four red candles and golden ribbons, tied into bows. We lit the first candle in the afternoon of the fourth Sunday before Christmas while sipping a cup of coffee and indulging in a piece of Stollen, a traditional Christmas treat. The following Sunday, we lit two candles, then three until we could light all four candles on the last Sunday before Christmas.

Third Advent – three candles are lit

These two traditions, the Advent calendar and the Advent wreath, preceded Christmas every year in our home and had me anticipate my favorite two days for weeks in advance.

For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on my home page and feel free to follow my blog about anything German: historic or current events, people, places or food.

Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.