It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Dear followers,

to give you a bit of an impression of the pre-Christmas season in the USA, I will now report on it. The Christmas season begins here for many Americans directly after Halloween. From that point on, decorations start appearing in the first gardens and homes. In some cases, there are also about 3 weeks in between that are used to decorate for Thanksgiving. For example, a blow-up turkey might be found in the front yard. But at the latest, Christmas decorations begin after that. Not only are houses adorned, but great efforts are also made in the cities. Everything is designed to be a bit more colorful, not in the classic colors you might usually expect. A significant difference can also be seen in the inflatable reindeer/snowmen/Santas, etc.

There are also Christmas markets in America. But let's be honest: We were a bit disappointed with the Christmas markets. Most Christmas markets sell quite a bit of 'trinkets.' In Pittsburgh, however, there are a few nice booths, even with actual Christmas market cabins and not just pavilions or similar structures. What every Christmas market lacks, even if it's meant to be typically German, is good food and drink stands. Usually, there is only one mulled wine/punch stand and one food stand at the whole Christmas market. In Philadelphia, ‘Bavarian Pretzel with cheese’ and ‘German sausage with Sauerkraut’ were sold. In Pittsburgh, there were ‘Bavarian Cheese/Spinach Strudel’ and ‘Bavarian Apple Strudel.’ That’s about it. If you’re lucky, you might find a stand with roasted almonds. Of course, we tried the dishes anyway. The sausage with Sauerkraut wasn’t bad; however, the pretzel, like pretty much every pretzel here, strangely never tastes much like a pretzel. As you might have noticed by now, the concept of a good Christmas market hasn’t quite arrived here yet. Despite everything, we are glad that there are Christmas markets here (even if they’re not like at home), as they do create a real Christmas atmosphere.

BUT: What Americans excel at is: decorating a lot and turning every season into an event. Almost every city has a 'Community Tree Lighting Celebration.' On this day, all the Christmas lights and Christmas trees are lit for the first time. There’s music, some stands, etc. There’s a lot going on in the city on this day. Many cities also offer a 'Christmas Garden' or, as it's called in Pittsburgh, 'Dazzling Nights.' For this, light strings or special light effects have been installed throughout the Botanical Garden, allowing you to dive into a completely different world and enjoy the Christmas spirit. The Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh also offers this. We visited it due to the Bosch Christmas Party. It was beautifully designed as well.

As you can see, Christmas traditions and the focus on Christmas in the USA are placed a bit differently. However, we can say that this Christmas season is very beautiful as well!

And now we wish you all a Merry Christmas, contemplative holidays, and of course a good start to the new year!

You will hear from us next in the new year from warmer places like the Dominican Republic and Florida. See you soon!