Advent rituals for the family

Virginia Nolan: Winter forest on the doorstep

"I associate these rituals with the Advent season - some we still practise today, others are part of fond childhood memories:

• What I looked forward to most as a child during Advent was visiting Father Christmas in the city forest with my grandad. Take the tram up to Käferberg, walk for half an hour into the winter forest - and suddenly you could see it: The small column of smoke rising from the chimney of a wooden hut where Father Christmas and Schmutzli welcomed their guests with biscuits and punch. Sometimes they even parked their donkey in front of the house. This ritual is one of the fondest memories I have of my childhood and my grandfather.

• I have been doing this with my daughter (8) for a few years now, and she has now taken over the reins: We go into the forest to collect pine cones, branches, stones, mistletoe and fir branches. Together with animal figurines and jars of candles, she arranges the whole thing in a discarded wooden box at the entrance to the house as a winter forest. I really like this decoration, it gives me a cosy feeling when I come home in the evening.
• In mid-December, I bake Christmas biscuits with my godmother and daughter - until I can't see any more dough and feel like I'm 90 after five hours with a permanent hump. But it's still nice.
• When our daughter was younger, we and the neighbouring families used to invite Father Christmas into the house on 6 December, who would open his golden book in the living room and look on in awe. His eagerly awaited annual report was always favourable; praise predominated, with benevolent recommendations to puff in the children's room taking the place of the dreaded reprimand. It was a completely different story with the Chlaus of my childhood memories, who always made the rounds in our block - in his case, the Chlaus Association had probably lost the pedagogical quick whitening. I vividly remember the moment when he unceremoniously shouldered my unruly (perhaps because she was notoriously untidy?) neighbour and carried her down the stairs, shouting and screaming. We were all very relieved when he didn't stuff her in the sack after all.
• Something we can't do without during Advent: We go candle making and now have an impressive stock of Christmas fireworks in our cupboard."

Maria Ryser: No Advent without a calendar!

«I'm happy to admit it: I'm a glugger when it comes to Advent calendars. My twenty-year-old daughter, who moved out in February, still gets one, although last year I firmly told myself: "That's the last one for her.»

I love advent calendars! And not just any ready-made Schöggeli, Lego or Playmobil calendars, but the homemade ones with sewn bags (from my nonna; I don't have the talent for that) and lovingly put together, individualised gifts. That's the part that makes my heart beat faster.

Ideally, I look for the right gifts throughout the year. To be honest, however, it usually comes down to last-minute action towards the end of November. The best moment is when I secretly hang up the calendars full of 24 bags in the children's room at night, followed by the children's oohs and ahhs and yowls the next morning.

Incidentally, the word Advent comes from the Latin advenire. It means to arrive, to approach. And that's exactly what I like so much about the Advent calendar: day by day, we get closer to the festival of love and light in the middle of the darkest time of the year."

Evelin Hartmann: Cuddling and running

"We have a box of books in the cellar with stories, songs and baking ideas for Christmas. As the 1st Advent approaches, the box is taken upstairs and unpacked with excitement. There they are again! Pipi, Ritter Freund and the most important ones: Wanda and Wusch. Four years ago, I read the story of little Wanda, who moves to her grandparents' farm with her parents shortly before Christmas, to my daughters for the first time. On the farm, Wanda meets the angel Wusch, who can no longer fly with his injured wing, but has to return home very quickly because Christmas Eve is coming up and Father Christmas needs Wusch's help. The 24 chapters - read in full by the 2nd Advent at the latest - are filled to the brim with snow, anticipation and, of course, a Christmas miracle ... a lovely book to snuggle up with!

The lake ripples softly

The snow trickles softly... that's what you imagine Christmas Eve to be like. But usually some warm front announces itself shortly before Christmas, in the worst case with rain. What a shame!!! So how can you wait for the Christ Child if you can't whizz through the winter wonderland on a sledge? Our place to be: the Lido in Lucerne - when Lake Lucerne looks rough and uncomfortable, the beach is wonderfully empty, with shells and seagulls to chase after while the wind blows around your nose and eventually back into your warm home. Who needs snow on Christmas Eve?"

Hanna Lauer remembers a ritual from her childhood:

«The greatest thing for us children was when we used to go to the thermal baths in Zurzach with our parents on 23 December. If we were very lucky, there was already snow. And what could be nicer than sitting in the warm water and catching snowflakes with our tongues? Sitting in the back of the car on the way back, I loved looking in the illuminated house windows. When I saw a family decorating the Christmas tree, it was a jackpot for me. To this day, we cherish this tradition with Bad Zurzach and I still love looking in the Christmas windows of other houses.»

Florina Schwander becomes a craft enthusiast instead of a Christmas grouch thanks to the children

«I'm not a big Christmas fan. You can chase me with "Three Nuts for Cinderella» and I often find the atmosphere in the city more annoying and stressful than festive and cheerful. Like many parents, my children have made me a little more conciliatory towards Christmas and I am now at least looking forward to the Advent season.

We consciously try to create rituals here and do similar things every year, depending on age of course. For example, we always make a wreath towards the end of November and candle-making in all its variations is a big family hobby in December. A ride on the fairy tale tram and a visit to the theatre are also part of our Advent rituals.

We also bake for all the oven's worth. To ensure that all the crafting and baking doesn't leave any marks, our dining table gets an oilcloth to protect it towards the end of November, which is now almost as much a standard part of the Christmas decorations as the white stars made from sandwich bags.

Like Evelin, we also have a box of Christmas books that we get out at the end of November. Zipf, Zapf, Zepf and Zipfelwitz are very popular for reading and listening. Very important: the Christmas tree comes out early in our house, but outside. It stands in the garden all year round and can be admired on the balcony table throughout December."