Sami Niggi Naeggi

Last Saturday, December 6th, I was lucky to take Sofia to meet the "Samichlaus" for the first time. Samichlaus is the Swiss version of Santa and he comes on December 6th. I had bummped into another Swiss lady at the grocery store, who heard me speak Swiss to Sofia and so she approached us and invited us to come to this event. It was hosted by the Peninsula Swiss Club When we got there, there were already quite a few Swiss kiddies running around, and all I could think of was, how cool it was to be able to have Sofia experience a true Swiss tradition. Something I grew up with I get to share now with her, all the way over here in the States! I have to admit, I got a little choked up at the thought. Before Sofia was born, I never thought of joining a Swiss club, because I didn't feel the need. But now that I have her, it just makes sense. It's really wonderful, because they also host a Fondue night and an Easter egg hunt in April, as well as the traditional 1. of August celebration, which is something like 4th of July.
Here she is meeting the "Samichlaus":




At home (in Switzerland), he comes on December 6th, usually once it's dark, and nocks on your door, or you might hear a bell ring somewhere in the distance. If you're lucky, he's alone, but sometimes he'll bring his helper the "Schmutzli" who's dressed in a brown robe rather than a red one, and he'll help Samichlaus take you away to work with him in the woods, if you were naughty during the year. I know, it's pretty scary. He also carries a big golden book with him, where he reads about everything you've done during the year, good and bad. Usually, he makes you recite a poem or sing/play a song, too, so adding to the already existing nervousness you'll have performance anxiety as well! He'll usually give you a good scare, but of course he'll always say, that you've been good and then gives you a little bag filled with nuts, chocolates, and mandarines and then he leaves again. As you can tell, he's not really the jolly, big, white haired man, with plump red cheeks and a friendly smile on his face!

Ah yes, I have fond memories of being scared $#!%less the day of and freaking out because I had said bad things about him...my mom still teases me with it and I'm sure once Sofia is old enough, she'll get to hear that story, too! It's all good, because in the end Good always prevails, and the kids catch on to it very fast.

She also got to taste a "Grittibaenz", which is basically a sweet bread dough, shaped into a little boy figure and decorated with raisins, little sugar drops, and almonds. In this picture she's eating the one she got that day and this made me want to make our own. So I think this weekend we have to have a "Grittibaenz" baking day!



Ah yes, the holidays are great when you have children. I can already tell, that this year it will be more than ever about unwrapping presents and we've started the tradition already with an Advent Calendar for her. I bought cute little holiday boxes and filled them with little goodies and small toys. And each morning the first thing I hear is "Open number two, mommy?" because that was the first box she got to open (No, it DOES start on December 1st, you're right, I just wasn't ready that day...so we started on the 2. instead), and even thought we've been telling and teaching her about the numbers and that they change each day as we approach Christmas, she still calls it the #2 box, very cute! We give her a square that has the same number on it and she gets to find the box by comparing the two numbers. That way she'll have to work for her present a little, too ;o). She loves it too, she can't wait to find the right number and color (I also color coded, to make it a little easier for her). It's fun for her, and we get a kick out of it too, I have to say. But I'm already worried about what will happen once there aren't any more boxes left... so I've been prepping her already that once Christmas is here, there won't be anymore boxes after that. We'll see how it goes. Here is a picture of her Advent Calendar:




I'll be sure to post some pictures of our Grittibaenz bake day soon, so come back to see them! Until then I say toodles and stay warm!

B