Bettina Juszak

Staff Writer

A series of musings on American culture by a German exchange student:

Christmas and New Year’s – two of the most major events of the year, only a week apart. And the best thing: one week off from school.

When I say the best thing, that is of course only a relative assessment. My personal first reaction to that fact was more along the lines of why, oh why is it only one week? Being used to two weeks of Christmas vacation that struck me as particularly short and unfair, especially with the midterms coming up at an alarming speed after. What bugged me even more, however, was the snow. Seriously, a snow storm (proclaimed blizzard, but it really wasn’t such a bad storm I thought; but then again I wasn’t driving around in it) two days after school was out?! That is too unfair to even put into words – especially because it was the perfect kind of snow storm, dumping like a foot and a half of snow everywhere, which certainly would have caused at least one snow day if not several. Instead everyone got stuck clearing snow from the driveway during free time.

Christmas and New Year’s themselves are surprisingly similar to what we do in Germany (I guess some things just are the same everywhere; I would bet New Year’s resolutions are as harrowing and often failing here as they are in Germany), aside from some minor differences like actual stockings over the fireplace – I guess your Santa Claus is just a bit more active. Oh, and of course the famous ball drop in New York – I can’t say we have anything that extravagant anywhere in Germany. On the other hand it seems as if there are definitely more people in Germany privately buying fireworks to use on New Year’s Eve (I don’t know if that just means Germans like stuff going boom more, or if I am just deaf and blind and didn’t notice people shooting fireworks around – then again, anyone who really likes fireworks could just go into Boston and see a huge professional one).

The time of carols and cookies is over, a new year has begun. What remains? Well, waiting for Easter of course!