Russia Snapshot #5: Food

Food is a huge part of our travel experiences, no matter where we go. From roasted goat and boiled beans in Uganda to crawfish in Louisiana, tasting the local cuisine helps us get a little closer to understanding the people.  On our trip to Russia, one great joy for my husband and me was introducing our children to the culinary highlights.

Below my daughter eats her first pelemeni on Russian soil. Pelemeni are a type of ravioli filled with ground meat and served with dill and sour cream. Sometimes it is served as a soup and sometimes the pelemeni are fried. Though my kids have eaten pelemeni many times before - I make them and we can buy them frozen in Berlin - there was something special about eating them in their country of origin.

My husband loves posi, a traditional Buryat dish. Posi are large, steamed dumplings filled with ground pork, beef and lamb. There is even a special way to eat it: since there is a hole the top of the dumpling that the broth can spill out of, you gently hold a dumpling in your hand, take a small bite from of the side, and then suck out the broth. Posi are crowd-pleasers for both young and old, but you only need to eat a couple to be full for days! Below we are eating posi in Ulan-Ude.

A favorite Siberian past time is eating cedar nuts, which come from a cone just like pine nuts. There is an art to cracking the small nuts and it can be addictive once you start. When I lived in Ulan-Ude, most of my American teammates would give up in frustration saying it was too much work for such a small nut. But this is a small joy in life that I learned to treasure. After a few minutes, my kids were walking down the street with a pocketful of cedar nuts cracking away just like any Siberian kid would.

Fresh cedar nuts from the market.

We also tried the marvelous fresh berries from the market. The orange ones are called "oblipekha" in Russia and "sea-buckthorn" berry in English and "Sanddorn" in German. These sour berries are often called "Siberian pineapple" and are delicious with a little sugar mixed in.

Friends in Moscow made fresh blini for us, one of my favorite Russian treats. These crepe-like pancakes

can be eaten with marmelade  . . .

  . . . or savory with things like caviar and sour cream!

We also had plov, a traditional Uzbek rice pilaf with lamb or beef, carrots, onions and sometimes raisins. It's mouth-watering!

Our "Plov Evening" with friends in Moscow.

Hmmm . . . I think we need a few more varieties of sausage here:

And did we mention that we love the ice cream in Russia?!!!

The Topic of Santa

As spiritual mentors, how do we deal with the topic of Santa (in all of his various forms!)?  Do we go along with the tradition of teaching kids to believe in Santa? If we talk about Jesus the same way that we talk about Santa, can that cause children to subconsciously believe that Jesus is also a fairy tale?

From a Wikipedia article, this is an 1881 illustration by Thomas Nast. 

I distinctly remember the day that I found out there was no Santa Claus. I was 7-years-old and had been in a serious argument at school with a little boy about Santa's existence. I defended Santa and Rudolph as vehemently as I would have defended the Immaculate Conception.  Shaken by the little boy's counter arguments, I went to my mother who sheepishly admitted that there was no Santa.  I was crushed. . . and angry. Why had every adult in my life lied to me all those years? Fortunately, this disappointment never caused me to doubt my faith in God, but I have heard from others that it cause them to wonder if the story about Bethlehem was made up as well.

My husband, however, had a completely different experience and found the whole Santa thing to be great fun as a kid. When he found out the truth, he just laughed and kept playing along.  So after we had children ourselves, we had serious debates over what to tell our children.  Funny how we got into such heated arguments over something like Santa.:)

We both quickly found that in a multicultural world, keeping up the Santa tradition becomes complicated. With the media and friends from different ethnic backgrounds, kids catch on quick to the different versions (or lack of) to the story. Who exactly does bring all those presents? In the US, Santa and St. Nicholas are the same person. In northern Germany, they are two completely different people. And in many parts of southern Germany, Austria and northern Italy, St. Nicholas also has a sidekick, a sometimes rather scary helper named "Knecht Ruprecht" or "Krampus" who brings naughty children switches.

This is a harmless image of Knecht Ruprecht, St. Nicholas' "helper",
but google the name and you'll see some other images! (Source)

In other parts of southern Germany, there is no Santa at all.  Instead, the "Christkind" ("Christ Child") brings the presents.  Depending on who you talk to, the Christkind can be either Baby Jesus himself or a sort of angel.  (In Nuremburg there is a bi-annual beauty pageant to choose a young girl who will be the Christkind. She then makes public appearances at Christmas markets to wow the young children.) In the Czech Republic, "Ježišek" ("Little Jesus") brings the presents.  (Hmmm . . . the Czech Republic is also the most atheistic nation in Europe. Could there be a historical connection between the birth of Christ being reduced to another form of Santa Claus and the atheism?) In Russia, "Ded Moroz" ("Grandfather Frost") brings the gifts at New Year's, which might be the most healthy thing of all, since the gift-giving has no connection at all to the Orthodox Christmas celebration on January 7. And what about kids whose families don't celebrate Christmas? My son wanted to know in the first grade why his Muslim friends had no Santa visits. Keeping up the Santa tradition is not as easy as it used to be in a global village . . .

Sixteen-year-old Franziska Handke, the Nuremburg Christkind for 2011-12.
Click here for more pictures and info.

In the end, my husband and I settled on a compromise: we told our kids the truth, but explained that it was a fun "game" that everyone, young and old, plays. Consequently, both kids are secure knowing the truth, but still have the fun of drawing pictures for St. Nicholas, singing Santa songs, or leaving cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve.

I have also decided that if any children ask me directly about Santa, I will also explain it to them in this way. I certainly don't want to destroy the "Christmas Magic" in their early years, but as a spiritual mentor, I feel that I have to honor the trust that the children around me extend.  This means helping sort out which stories are fun fairy tales and which ones are not.

How do you feel about the Santa tradition and what do you tell the children you care for?

Nikolaus / St. Nicholas Day

On December 5, children all over Germany polish their boots and set them out for St. Nicholas to come. He usually brings clementines, nuts, chocolate and/or a small gift. Then on December 6, the Feast of St. Nicholas, the kids wake up early and run to their boots. My kids, even though they are both old enough to know about the historical St. Nicholas and don't believe that he actually comes, eagerly got their boots ready. My son actually put his whole boot under the water faucet, completely drenching it, so that it was too wet to wear the next day.: )

Nikolaus brought the kids clementines, chocolate and new colored pencils!

They got up extra early to check their boots!

I always read the story of the real St. Nicholas to the children and remind them that we polish the boots and give gifts on this day as a way to remember this man's faith and selfless life. The book below, "The Story of St. Nicholas", is excellent for school-age children and has beautiful illustrations embossed with gold.

In Germany, St. Nicholas and "Der Weihnachtsmann" (Santa Claus) are two different people. I am always met with blank stares when I try to explain to German friends that they have melded into the same person in American pop culture.  I appreciate the distinction, because the story of Nicholas of Myra is an inspiring one that I don't want to get lost among Santa, Rudolph and company.

Celebrating Second Advent

On Second Advent we remember Mary and Joseph and journey with them to Bethlehem. See Bethlehem with the long street leading up to it? Maybe Mary and Joseph were the last people to make it to Bethlehem that night.

The little donkey was with Mary and Joseph.  When Mary was too tired to take another step, she rode the donkey.  But riding a donkey with a large tummy is also tiring. So she walked and she rode. Here is the candle for the prophets and the candle for the Holy Family.  If we blow the candles out, the light changes and fills the whole room with God's light. 

Joining the Holy Family on the road to Bethlehem.
I made the panels last year by cutting felt and glueing it to canvas boards.

I love the simplicity of the Godly Play Advent stories.  They can be told all at once or in four segments like I am doing this year with my children. These stories make the Advent journey to Christmas tangible for children (and adults!) by giving a clear focus to each Advent Sunday, but also leaving room to "wonder".

In addition to our Godly Play devotional, we did some baking.  I have to admit that I am not a natural baker and didn't do much of it until I had kids.  A beloved German Christmas carol of ours is called "In der Weihnachtsbäckerei" ("In the Christmas Bakery") and our small apartment turned into this.  The second line of the song talks about the big mess that ensues and we had that as well!

We started by sculpting Marzipan animals from the book, Backen mit Kindern by Dr. Oetker, who is the German Betty Crocker.  We made mice, hedgehogs and hamsters (we have a pet hamster!) by mixing marzipan with an almost equal amount of powdered sugar and making a dough with it.

For the mice and hamsters, we used almonds for the ears, candy for the eyes and gummi strings for the tails.  To make the hedgehogs, we dipped the bodies in chocolate and then put almonds in the chocolate before it dried.  Thanks, Dr. Oetker!

And then we made gingerbread cookies! Actually, we made the dough beforehand, because it has to sit in the refridgerator for a while. I used this great recipe from the Food Network. 

Decorating is the most fun!

And like last week, just so you don't think we're the Brady Bunch or that I am Wonder Mom, all of this happened with Brother and Sister getting into multiple arguments and Mommy almost pulling her hair out. Then, our pet hamster, Hammy, got out of her cage for over an hour, which sent both children into hysterics. (We live in an older building that has holes in the wall in which Hammy could set herself free.) After taking a moment to ask for God's help with both our attitudes and finding Hammy, we developed a new game to encourage both kids to be proactive about thinking of the other and then set a "trap" of sorts to lure Hammy back with her favorite treats. Then we read a chapter of Barbara Robinson's The Best Christmas Pageant Ever and laughed our heads off.  Yes, prayer and laughter are the best medicines!  Finally, Hammy decided to come back to the easy life and there was much rejoicing. : )

Happy Second Advent!


Linked to Monday Madness at Let Kids Create and Art4LittleHands

Advent Club this Year

Well, some of you may have wondering why I haven't posted on the annual Advent Club that I do at our local elementary school.  Let's just say that things haven't worked out this year quite like I expected. For reasons beyond my control and that I can't blog about, we haven't been able to start.

Hopefully, I will be able to share some things with you soon. But until then, I wanted to re-post the links from last year's Advent Club.  In the Advent Club, I combine Godly Play and social projects to help children understand the Christian beliefs and practices during the Christmas seasons and re-focus their attention away from the consumerism connected to the holiday.

Last year's theme was "Die Hoffung von Weihnachten: an unsere Mitmenschen denken" ("The Hope of Christmas: Thinking of Others"). Our message to the children was that Jesus came as a helpless baby rather than a powerful king with an army and wealth; yet, he changed the world beginning with small steps. And just like Jesus, with God's help, the children can carry the light of Christmas with them all year long and change the world with small steps. And then we took a couple of small steps ourselves: throwing Christmas parties for children from other parts of Berlin.

Here are the posts:

Advent Club Week 1

Advent Club Week 2

Advent Club Week 3

Advent Club Week 4

The theme I planned for this year is called "A Gift for our City". And, hopefully, I will soon be able to tell you more about it.: )

Russia "Snapshot" #4: Let it Snow!

I know it's Advent, but I'm still not finished processing our trip to Russia. Really it was the best Christmas present I could ever received with the exceptions of Jesus himself and my daughter's December birth almost 6 years ago.

Right before we left, my son asked, "Mom, do you think there'll be snow? I hope so!" I was more than a little surprised, because most Berliners would rather be someplace warm like Mallorca this time of year. Well, he and my daughter got their wish, because it started snowing the day after we arrived.

My dear friend, Oksana, and I decided to take our kids to Ulan-Ude's Ethnographical Museum, a lovely outdoor museum located just outside the city.

Our kids, below, weren't in much of a picture-taking mood . . .

But we were!

The kids had a great idea . . . 

Snow angels!!

So much fun that, well, who could resist?

Okay, if this picture doesn't scream "Russia", I don't know what would . . . 

In Irkutsk, we also had some snow fun with the son of friends we were visiting.

 Down we go  . . . 

 When you don't speak the other person's language, why not just start building an igloo together?

Not as much snow in Moscow, but still enough to have fun in the park.

Since it is unusually warm here in Berlin for this time of year and it doesn't look like it will be a white Christmas, I am glad that my kids have had a little snow fun already. : )

Linked to The Magic Onions

Weihnachten im Schuhkarton / Operation Christmas Child

While Advent is one of my favorite seasons of the year, I struggle intensely with the consumerism and commercialization of the holiday.  Black Friday in America wigs me out, and even though we don't have this in Germany, there are still ads everywhere telling you what you need.  I find that as a spiritual mentor of my children and others, I really have to plan and make an effort to communicate a different message to the children around me. And one way to do this is to get children thinking about other people . . .

Weihnachten im Schuhkarton (literally "Christmas in a Shoebox") aka Operation Christmas Child in the States is a great way to help our kids think about others. If you're not familiar with it, you pack a shoe box for a child of a certain age with school supplies, hygiene products, winter accessories, small toys and candy. Geschenke der Hoffnung here in Germany and Samaritan's Purse in the US then send the shoe boxes to a child in a second or third world country.  (Most of our shoes boxes in Germany go to poorer regions in Eastern Europe.)

The only catch is that you have to start thinking about it early. This year we got our act together before Thanksgiving and invited several three other families to join us for brunch and packing shoe boxes. Our children drew pictures and wrote Christmas greetings, and we printed out photos of each family to include in the boxes.

Naturally, children want to know why we are doing this and it provides opportunities for deeper conversations about how children in other parts of the world live.  It can be difficult for younger children to grasp the idea of preparing a box for someone they don't know, so I always have them pick out the gifts in the store to more personally involve them.  Then, when they were younger, I would explain that although we didn't know the name of the child we were preparing this for, God knew his or her name and everything about that child. Then, we would pray for God to bless him or her.

What are ways that you fight the consumer-mentality and help your children re-focus during Advent?

Linked to Catholic Icing