I'm a simple emigrant, and in Germany today it's Christmas

I want to tell you about my first Christmas in this country. I moved from Russia a month before the holiday. That is, in addition to the fact that as a Russian I wasn't planning to celebrate it anyway, I wouldn't have anyone to celebrate with. But my friend Nadine invited me to her parents' house. I think Germans, if someone stays alone for Christmas, definitely invite them over. So I first went to a party in Munich, and then we all headed together to a village to Nadine's parents' house. First, on December 23, we went to church to listen to Christmas carols, and everyone could participate: there were books with the lyrics on all the seats. The next day, on Christmas Eve, we went to church again. On that day the children performed a nativity play, just like in the movies, can you imagine? And I saw it live for the first month and a half in the new country. Also on Christmas Eve, they usually organize a festive dinner, and this confuses even those who have been living here for years. After all, Christmas is on the 25th, but they "celebrate" it on December 24. Such dinners often include various raw meats, poultry, fish, vegetables and cheese. And in the center of the table they place the king – raclette. It's a two-tier pan, with a grill on top and small individual pans below, into which you can put already cooked vegetables or meat, cover with cheese and let it melt. Remembering how my mom used to start cooking days in advance, and when everyone was already sitting, she would still run from the kitchen to the living room, I grew to love the very concept of raclette. Even though the holiday is officially on the 25th and 26th of December, people usually take vacation until the New Year. And during this time begin the well-known rounds of visiting relatives, family friends, neighbors, etc. I was also invited to go with them to meet all the relatives. And the last day I spent trying to communicate in my nonexistent German with people who had a strong Bavarian dialect, telling again and again the same story about our meeting Nadine during our exchange studies. #holidays