Christmas in Minnesota [intermediate]

Christmas in Minnesota, USA, is a celebration right out of a storybook. Being one of the more northern states, a white Christmas is nearly guaranteed.

The inhabitants of Minnesota are mainly of German or Norwegian descent, so we have a touch of European Christmas tradition in our celebrations. The festivities begin on the 24th of December, Christmas Eve, with families attending a church service. They then gather to exchange gifts and enjoy a meal, a few cups of eggnog and the obligatory Christmas cookies together.

Before going to bed, children hang their stockings on the mantle of their fireplaces hoping to find them filled the next morning with lots of goodies and toys. Santa arrives sometime during the night, along with his team of eight reindeer with Rudolf leading them, and slides down the chimney to deliver his presents. He usually takes time to nibble on a few cookies too and take a gulp of the milk the kids leave him. If it's an animal-friendly household, there'll be a carrot for the reindeer too.


Wishing you a merry Christmas,

Lisa Reiland

Vocabulary:

celebration storybook nearly guaranteed inhabitants mainly descent a touch of festivities attend church service gather exchange gifts eggnog obligatory stockings mantle fireplaces goodies he slides chimney gulp animal-friendly-household

die Feier Bilderbuch nahezu garantiert Einwohner hauptsächlich Abstammung ein Hauch von Feierlichkeiten teilnehmen Gottesdienst sich versammeln Geschenke austauschen Eierpunsch obligatorisch Strümpfe Kaminsims Kamin Leckereien / Süßigkeiten er rutscht Schornstein Schluck tierfreundlicher Haushalt