Epiphany

Hi children!
January 6, is the last day of Christmastime and “Epiphany”. Epiphany became the Festival of the Three Kings, or wise men/magi: Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar. According to an old legend based on a Bible story, these three kings saw, at the night when Christ was born, a bright star, followed it to Bethlehem and found there the Christchild and presented it with gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Today, the Star Singers visited our friends in Austria.This tradition is still very much alive in Austria. Children are dressed as the kings, holding up a large star, go from door to door and singing a Three Kings' song. For this they receive money and this donation go to charities of the church or the Third World, - this year to the street kids of Uganda. The Star Singers inscribe in chalk over the doorway the initials of the Three Kings C+M+B plus the year, to protect house and home. According to the Church C+M+B stands for "Christus Mansionem Benedictat", - Christ bless this home.
Finally, I should like to say, it was an interesting time in Austria to gain an insight into the Austrian traditions and way of life. And we enjoyed the wintersports facilities like skiing, snowboarding, to go sledging, skating and cross-country skiing.
Tomorrow, we are going to a tailor to get tailor-made Austrian clothes. Mr Wista wants leather trousers and I would like to have a dirndl dress.

Good bye!
Mrs Wista

New Year's Eve

Hello kids!
Yesterday was “Silvester” or “New Year’s Eve”. We were very excited. Our Austrian friends invited a few other friends to have a New Year’s Eve party at home. At first, we enjoyed a nice meal. We ate pork of course for having a lot of luck in the next year. After that, we practised “Bleigießen“ or “Lead pouring” (A small amount of lead is melted in a tablespoon by holding a flame under the spoon and then poured into a bowl or bucket of water). Then we tried to read the future interpreting the resulting pattern. This was great fun. Mr Wista had got a plane and we were looking forward seeing the other wonderful countries of our project. That will come true, sure!!
Have a look at the video about “Lead pouring”: www.youtube.com
At midnight, we switched on the TV set and listened to the “Pummerin”, which is the biggest bell of the “Stephansdom” (St. Stephen's Cathedral) in Vienna. Have a look at: uk.youtube.com
After that, we danced a waltz and wished us good luck. We exchanged little pots of four-leafed clover, chimney sweeps and marzipan pigs as "good-luck charms". Then we went outside, met the neighbours, wished them all good luck and enjoyed the fireworks.
Today, we watched TV and listened to the famous “New Year Concert of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra”, which is a concert of classical music that takes place each year in the morning of January 1. It is broadcast around the world in 44 countries. We loved that music and danced once more waltz and even polkas and marches.
Our stay in Austria will end in 2 weeks, but yet it’s not time to say goodbye.

See you later!
Mr and Mrs Wista

Christmas Eve

Hello children!
Christmas Eve was perfectly wonderful. We heard the bell ringing and entered the room, where a traditional decorated Christmas tree with apples, nuts, gingerbread and stars made of straw was gleaming. We sang “Stille Nacht”, we read the “Christmas story” and after that the presents were distributed and opened.
Our Christmas Eve dinner was a fried carp, which is a typical Austrian Christmas dinner. But I loved the desert best. It was a chocolate and apricot cake called “Sachertorte”.
At 10 o’clock, we went to the Christmas Mass. Many people were there and we altogether celebrated Christmas. We sang Christmas carols and of course “Stillle Nacht”. When we went home, the night was cold and starry. At home, Mrs Wista and I were very tired. We went to bed and dreamt happily about Christkind in heaven.

Bye
Mr Wista

“Stille Nacht” - A Christmas carol goes around the world

Hello children!
The world’s most famous Christmas song, “Silent Night” comes from Austria. This beautiful Christmas carol is now sung and enjoyed around the world in hundreds of languages.

This is the story about “Stille Nacht”:
On Christmas Eve, the pastor Joseph Franz Mohr went into the church and found that the organ was not working. The leather bellows that are used to pump the air through the pipes were full of holes. Christmas without music would not do so the priest showed the organist and schoolteacher Franz Xaver Gruber a poem, he had written two years earlier. He hoped, his friend could set his poem to music.
And one of the many amazing things about this carol is that Franz Gruber composed the “Stille Nacht” melody for Mohr in just a few hours for guitar accompaniment on that December 24, 1818.
The most famous Christmas carol ever was born.
In many other countries this carol is played during weeks before Christmas, but the tradition in Austria is that "Stille Nacht" is sung only on Christmas Eve.
On our platform in the folder of “Information about Austria” you can find an audiofile of the quite original version of “Stille Nacht”. Listen and enjoy it on the 24th of December!

Good bye
Mr Wista

"Christkind"

Hello!
In Austria the Christkind brings every child a present and not Santa Claus.
The Christkind is a golden-haired baby with wings, who symbolises the new born Christ. The story tells how the Christkind comes down from heaven on Christmas Eve and, with his band of angels, decorates and distributes trees.
The children wait until they hear a bell tinkling. Then they enter a special room where the Christmas tree is waiting all decorated with candles, ornaments and candies. Children never see the Christkind, as parents will always tell them that the Christkind just disappeared before they came.

Bye
Mrs Wista

Advent in Graz

Hi kids!
This weekend, Mrs Wista and I experienced the magic of an Austrian Advent market. We visited Graz and found different Advent markets throughout the Old Town. At these markets, you can buy all kinds of Christmas ornaments, hand-carved toys, beeswax candels and many other interesting items. You can eat roasted chestnuts, gingerbread and Christmas cookies. Oh, I love these cookies, especially the smell of it! Mrs Wista likes "Vanillekipferl" best and I love the "Chocolate balls" so much.

But know, I'll tell you the best:
Also this year, a colossal ice sculpture, created by the renowed artist Gert Hödl and his international team attracts many people to the Landhaushof. This sculpture is really wonderful, have never seen such a thing before, because it only exists in Graz. It is the world first and only nativity scene of crystal clear ice since 1996, in this dimension.-
Next time, Mrs Wista will tell you more about "Christkind".

Bye
Mr Wista

Visit to Austria

Hi children!
When I arrived on the 26th of October, the Austrian people celebrated their National holiday. Since the 26th of October 1955, Austria has been an independent republic and has declared a permanent neutrality.
I could see the Austrian flag on many houses and the children at school sang the Austrian hymn. Do you want to hear the Austrian hymn? Have a look at our platform and find the folder “Information about Austria”. There you can find the file “Austrian hymn”.

Now, it is already winter here and today it is snowing.
Every year, the children love the Advent season. At school, they prepared Advent calenders for their classrooms. An Advent calendar is a special calendar which is used to count or celebrate the days of Advent till Christmas.
This calender could be for instance a house with 24 windows and every day from the 1st Dezember on the children open one window after the other. Advent calenders can have all kind of shapes and this year, the kids created very different calenders.

Another tradition is the Advent wreath. It is usually a horizontal evergreen wreath with four candles.
The four candles stand for the four Sundays before Christmas. On each Sunday a new candle is lit. So the ones that haven't been lit tell you how many more Sundays… you will have to wait.
The children helped to create the Advent wreath and the priest hallowed the Advent wreaths for the classrooms.

December 4th is St Barbara' s Day. Some 100 years ago Barbara, who lived in what is called Turkey today, was killed because she was a Christian. Miners have chosen St. Barbara as their Patron Saint.
On 4th December break a twig off a cherry tree and put it in a vase in your room. Because it's warm indoors you can trick the twig to believe it is spring. The buds start blooming and, if you are lucky, the flowers unfold on Christmas Eve.

Krampus is celebrated in the evening before 6th December.
Of course, there is no such thing in reality. It always is somebody in disguise - wearing a terrifying mask and a dark fur coat. Carrying a birch Krampus tries to frighten people.
There were stories that Krampus was looking for the naughty children. Of course, kids were scared! This has changed a lot and no one fears Krampus nowadays.
In some Austrian regions 'Perchten' are roaming the streets. Their masks can really be horrifying - even for adults.

On 6th December it is St. Nicholas' Day. St. Nicholas is the patron saint of the children and seamen.
It is said that St. Nicholas lived in Asia Minor hundreds of years ago.
He used to be bishop in a Christian community. This is why, even today, he carries a crosier (a bishop's crook).
The custom to brush your shoes and boots especially for this occasion the night before, still prevails. You put them in the window - hoping to find them filled with apples, nuts and chocolates the next morning.
Very often St. Nicholas is accompanied by Krampus.
So, that is enough for today, next time Mrs Wista will tell you more.

Bye
Mr Wista

Hello children!
Last weekend, I went skiing on the mountain called “Kreischberg”. This was great fun. All lifts are running and even a new lift called “sixpack orange” is opened now.
Do you want to see pictures of this skiing region? Have a look at the photo album: www.kreischberg.at
The children are learning skiing at the age of 4 or 5 years, some of them even earlier. Most of the kids have saison cards and are enjoying skiing the whole season till Easter Monday. A few of them prefer snowboarding, which is also great fun.

Today I got up very early, it was 5 o’clock in the morning. Many children attended an early mass named “Rorate”. The meaning of this mass is to bring light into the darkness, to light candles and to welcome Jesus.
Some of the children went with their hand laterns to the church, it was dark and the christmas tree in front of the church was gleaming. This impression gave us a wonderful feeling of forthcoming christmas.
Next time, Mr Wista will tell you about Advent markets and the famous "Eiskrippe" in Graz.

Bye
Mrs Wista