Hi Everyone!
Sorry I’m late this
week. So many personal things happening that I really forgot all about posting something
about Vienna. Better late than never, like the cliché says.
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| November 2015 Autumn Leaves |
This week has turned cold and
more like the fall I’m used to here. On thing that struck me funny this past
week is the lack of Halloween. Though we did see some folks in costumes on the
night itself and there were plenty of costumes in various shops around the
city, by and large, Halloween is not a celebrated day. Now, I would say it’s
mainly because All Saints Day is November 1st and religious holidays
do seem to take precedence here.
But I had to chuckle this
week as I noted some lamenting on Facebook about people and stores already
having Christmas decorations up. Heaven forbid…it was before Thanksgiving!
Well, of course, I just couldn’t keep my mouth shut and had to chime in my 2
cents…wait for it…how would you like to live in a country that doesn’t
celebrate Thanksgiving? Or any kind that we can figure out.
Nope, this place has no
Thanksgiving and frankly, that’s very depressing when you think about it. I’m
so used to having a houseful of people around me that these past four years
have been a virtual emotional desert for me. We were lucky in the first year
that we had some friends who were here and we invited them to join us. The
second year, we invited a whole bunch and had a table full. The third year was
pretty bare and last year, I spent it with a group of my husband’s co-workers
because he was in Jordan for six weeks. This year, we’re hoping to have a
tableful again as this will be our last one and we really want to get people
together to say how thankful we are for them being in our lives.
Now that’s on the personal
part but as far as Vienna goes, there is nothing between
Halloween and
Christmas…so why not start putting the holiday stuff up? We noticed on our
walks the last couple of nights that they have started setting up for the
Christkindlemarkt that will be held in Karlsplatz as usual. It will open in
about two weeks. They are probably putting up the lights on Kartnerstrasse and
the Graben this week as well. When we were shopping at IKEA this weekend, we
picked up some really neat hanging snowflakes with lighting.
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| Setting Up Christkindlemarkt 2014 |
Yeah, we’re buying into this
early Christmas thing because it’s all a matter of perspective. I mean, when I’m
in the States, I actually hate that the stores are trying to make the holiday
happen before Thanksgiving. I like the one-holiday-at-a-time mentality.
However, when it doesn’t apply, you need to go with the flow and that flow states
that in less than two weeks I will be inundated with all sorts of Christmas
things from presents to decorations.
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| Kartnerstrasse Lights 2011 |
What’s your perspective on
this? Do you love or hate the fact that US retailers push the envelope out a
little further each year? How would you deal with something like what I have to
do in Vienna? Would you go with the flow or be resentful?
I look forward to hearing
from you as you’ll be in the running for a $25 Amazon gift certificate. BUT you’ve
got to comment to be in the running. It hasn’t been awarded in a long time
because people will come and look but not give their opinion. I’d love to see
your opinion.
The pictures are labeled as
some of them have come from previous years. Hope you enjoyed this little look
into Austria and beyond. See you all next week!
Lynn
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