December 2002 - Nr. 13
Dick reports...
And another Christmas Market…
…close on the heels of the one at the Danube Swabian Club, a week earlier, the now almost traditional Christmas Fair at the Hansa Haus was staged. This was another opportunity for those that missed it the previous one, to now get some of the gifts they need for the coming holydays.
Some of the vendors that were at the "Donauschwaben Klub" had set up shop again but were joined by many others that were not at that fair. The Mennonites, for example, had a large booth in the great hall where they offered everything from knitwear to sausages. jams and jellies.
Burgi Riegler-Tyrell, originally from Vienna, offered some
of her fantastic baked goods from her "Konditor" shop, to the visitors.
Samples were available, and especially the delicious "Sacher Torte" seemed
to be a favourite with the shoppers. You may have seen Burgi performing her
culinary magic at Christine Cushing’s show on the Food TV channel recently,
but here you could really taste the results.
Of course there were also the usual, strictly Christmassy items available, nutcrackers, pyramids, toys, dolls, "Räuchermänner" (to burn a special incense), Christmas tree décor and much, much more. You could even buy a "Stiefelknecht" to help remove your winter-boots, if you were so inclined.
Some of the - way over 1000 - visitors welcomed the opportunity to sample some of the other culinary delights offered by the club in the "Hansa Stube" - the upstairs restaurant and bar facilities. To many it was also a welcome relief to rest their weary feet after tramping through this second popular annual fair.
Christmas Carolling at the Hansa Haus
This annual event, held at the "Hansa Stube" above the great
hall, is hosted by the Hansa Choir under the directorship of Wolf Schepp and
ably assisted by his wife Inge at the keyboard.
It was a well-attended
affair that almost exceeded the capacity of the venue and a delightful "Auftakt"
for the holiday season.
You might recall that last year I mentioned Jeffrey Erbrecht
accompanying the choir in the r
endition of the "Little Drummer Boy". However
he was sick with a high fever at home, so Wolf Schepp had to play the drums
by himself. But he did a credible job and was well applauded by the
audience.
Some of the carols were sung in English, some in German, but
all with enthusiasm and at times accompanied by the audience with great
fervour.
After the first half of the afternoon a short break was called to enable the guests – and the choir – to partake of the coffee and cake supplied by the Ladies Auxiliary.
In the second half of the afternoon concert the audience was
asked to participate in a sing-along of some more of theses seasonal
favourites under the direction of this very likeable conductor and Master of
Ceremonies, Wolf Schepp who guided the performances with great gusto and a
great deal of humour.
Santa Claus was coming to town…
…and one of the first stops he made was at the Danube
Swabian Club’s annual Christmas party.
But not until about 40 of the children on – and in front of
the stage - performed seasonal presentations under the guidance of Ingrid
Szauter and Rachel Seilern of the "Forget-me-not Family". Songs and poems
were presented plus the 12 days of Christmas theme.
How do you spell "Christmas" and "Weihnachten"- with big
coloured letters displayed on art boards was one of the first presentations,
the stage was really crowded at this point!
Signs on each of the tables also represented the "12 days of
Christmas" theme and you could see parents and children helping each other
assembling craft items such as little stars to keep the other youngsters
busy while waiting for Santa to arrive. Munching on a multitude of delicious
home-baked cookies donated by the Ladies Auxiliary, was another pastime for
young and old as an integral part of the event.
When Santa finally arrived the pent-up expectations and
emotions were finally relieved and now it was only a matter of waiting for
the right name to be called to receive a present. The presentation started
with the youngest children and was followed in one-year intervals to the
oldest child, until they all had their turn.
The Historical Society of Mecklenburg Upper Canada also
celebrated the season with a very traditional Christmas party that afternoon
- assisted by the Szauter Family, while the Sudeten-Germans held their
Christma
s party upstairs, in the mezzanine of the great hall.
Santa’s next stop…
…was at the annual Christmas Party for the members and their children and grandchildren at the Hansa Haus.
This was another opportunity to listen to the Hansa Choir
who opened the festivities with renditions of seasonal favourites.
This time
the Erbrecht brothers were available to help out, Jeffrey with the drum and
Daniel with the trumpet. It was gratifying to see how rapt the youngsters in
the audience quietly followed the songs and how enthusiastically they
complied when asked to join in the songs.
I tried to count the number of children in the hall. There
were over fifty, I think. It was very difficult to count them, since they
didn’t all stay in one place for any length of time. But they had a ball,
and that is how it should be!
While they waited for Santa to arrive, the children were
provided with colouring material and puzzles to keep them interested and
some of these budding artists took the job quite seriously – especially
trying to colour inside the lines!
Then the moment all had been waiting for arrived. Santa
Claus (B. Hladysch) with one of his Elves (Guy LaPlante) and lots of
presents entered the hall to a raucous welcome and a lot of smiling faces.
The children assembled on the floor in front of the stage – and Santa’s throne – to await their names being called to receive a present. Some of the real young ones didn’t quite know what to make of this old man with the beard that wanted them to sit on his knee. Some cried in the arms of their mothers – but got presents anyway – others, the older ones, had no problems at all. They must have had experience already!
Most of the presents were opened immediately by some of the kids – after all that was what they were waiting for, for almost two hours, while Albert Dittgen entertained the guests with seasonal tunes on the accordion.
Every table had been seasonally decorated. Plates with "Stollen"
and cookies were available as well as coffee for the grown-ups.
This is always a fun event and enjoyed by young and old. Other Christmas treats were available at the door for those that hadn’t shopped for any sweets yet.
Great event! Great fun! Santa Claus has now left the building! Ho, ho, ho!
Peace on Earth and a Merry Christmas to all,
as always,
Dick Altermann
Comments to: dick@echoworld.com
( German-Canadian, heritage, reports, news )
