A Kristmäs Poem...

I'm so excited -- I've had a gift idea for my dad in my head for... I hate to say it... over a year. It was just one of those things that seemed like it would be really hard, take really long. So I kept putting it off. Over a year.

Til this week. Got started on it, emailed the necessary people from whom I need stuff, got the hardest part done today (it didn't even take that long. Will I ever learn?!?) and it looks like I might even get it done in time for this year's Christmas! And oh how I want to spill the beans! I think he's going to love it! But of course want my dad to be surprised...

So instead, here is a poem (orig a song by Udo Lindenberg, I think) for my Dad (who is German) and Susi (also German, experiencing her first American Christmas) and all other friends, family, and acquaintances who understand both English and German.

For the rest of ya, it'll just be one big "Huh?!?" so I've interspersed it with photos of German Weihnachtsmarkte (Christmas Markets). How I love them. The first one is from my Dad's hometown in Bavaria.

Happy Kristmäs

When the snow falls wunderbar
And the children glücklich are,
When there’s Glatteis on the street,
And we all a Glühwein need,
Then you know, es ist soweit:
She is here, the Weihnachtszeit


Every Parkhaus ist besetzt,
Weil die people fahren jetzt
All to Kaufhof, Mediamarkt,
Kriegen nearly Herzinfarkt.
Shopping hirnverbrannte things
And the Christmasglocke rings.



Merry Christmas, merry Christmas,
Hör the music, see the lights,
Frohe Weihnacht, Frohe Weihnacht,
Merry Christmas allerseits...



Mother in the kitchen bakes
Schoko-, Nuss- and Mandelkeks
Daddy in the Nebenraum
Schmücks a Riesen-Weihnachtsbaum
He is hanging auf the balls,
Then he from the Leiter falls...


Finally the Kinderlein
To the Zimmer kommen rein
And es sings the family
Schauerlich: "Oh, Chistmastree!"
And the jeder in the house
Is packing die Geschenke aus.



Merry Christmas, merry Christmas,
Hör the music, see the lights,
Frohe Weihnacht, Frohe Weihnacht,
Merry Christmas allerseits...



Mama finds unter the Tanne
Eine brandnew Teflon-Pfanne,
Papa gets a Schlips and Socken,
Everybody does frohlocken.
President speaks in TV,
All around is Harmonie.



Merry Christmas, merry Christmas,
Hör the music, see the lights,
Frohe Weihnacht, Frohe Weihnacht,
Merry Christmas allerseits