English: Merry Christmas!

I take this opportunity (die Gelegenheit nutzen) to wish you a very merry festive season and share this message of joy with you.Christmas is the most popular festival of the year, and it holds a special place in every one's heart.It is a festival of sharing laughter, joy (Freude), affection (Zuneigung/Warmherzigkeit), care (Achtsamkeit) and the warmth of your love. Christmas is the time of giving and sharing.

It is the time of loving and forgiving (die Zeit zu lieben und zu vergeben), and to feel the joy and happiness of being loved and to be loved.May this Christmas be the most joyous one you've ever had, and the joys of Christmas continue with you throughout the year.Merry Christmas! (Frohe Weihnachten!).

A Christmas traditionThere are many interesting facts and stories around the theme of Christmas, but here is a bit of trivia (wissenswerte Kleinigkeiten) which I hope you may find interesting:One of the most traditional illustrations (Darstellung) of Christmas is that of Santa Claus' sleigh (Schlitten) pulled by flying reindeer (Rentier) with magnificent antlers (prächtige Geweih).The story of the flying reindeer first appeared in a poem (Gedicht) back in 1823 called "A Visit from St. Nicholas" (Als der Nikolaus kam) by Clement Clarke Moore and later translated into German by Erich Kästner.

In the poem the reindeer are called Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Dunder, and Blixem.Dunder was later changed to Donder and in other stories to Donner (as in German, "thunder"), and Blixem was later changed to Bliksem, then Blitzen (German for "lightning"). Some people consider (halten/betrachten) Rudolph as part of the group, although he was not part of the original poem. Rudolph was added to the story by Robert L. May in the 1930s, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer."But are the reindeers boys or girls?Well, both male (männlich) and female (weiblich) reindeer grow antlers, but typically male reindeer shed their antlers (das Geweih abwerfen) at the beginning of winter, usually late November to mid-December. Female reindeer retain (beibehalten) their antlers till after they give birth in the spring.Therefore, according to every historical rendition depicting Santa's reindeer, every single one of them, from Rudolph to Donner and Blitzen had to be a girl (musste ein Mädchen sein) :-)

Author: Gareth Landers