I know some people might say it’s too early but I would say it’s already November which is really close to Christmas so I want to talk about how we celebrate it in Austria. In Austria Christmas is the most important holiday, every person I know celebrates it even if they aren’t christian. For us Christmas starts with the first Sunday past the 26. November so it is between the 27.11 and the 3.12. We have something called “Adventskranz” which translates to advent wreath which is usually made at the end of November out of collected fir branches, christmasy decoration and most importantly four candles, one for every Sunday before Christmas. Of course every child has an advent calendar, either self-made or bought and sometimes adults also get one. During December we go to Christmas markets to eat “Kiachl”(round doughy things eaten with jam or sauerkraut) and we drink “Punch” (hot apple juice with spices). On December 6th Nikolaus is coming to your house, either he just leaves some chocolate or he really talks to you what you did good and what you didn’t in the last time. December 24th is real Christmas for us. We eat a big Christmas meal, people go to church made you go ice skating in the morning. Different to other countries we don’t believe in Santa Claus, we believe in the “Christkindl”, which in the direct translation means Jesus as a baby but we imagine it more as a white angel with golden locks. In the evening we unpack presents and everyone is happy about spending time with the people they love.