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One evening, it was the Christmas Eve, Star, the little mascot, was resting lifelessly on a shelf. Well, she wasn’t only sitting there, still and doing nothing, you know. She was waiting for some … special friend. And boy, she was so anxious! And just when she thought that the worries might make her loose her balance and fall from the shelf, Star heard a faint noise which made her pay attention. The fairy was there, finally.
“Sorry.”, said the sweetest voice ever, that of a tiny creature. “I know I’m late. Oh! You wouldn’t believe what held me on my way”, went on the crystal clear voice. Star knew that the fairy was only making excuses for her poor time management, but she took no offence. After all, they were such good friends and Star knew only too well that the fairy wouldn’t miss the daily five-minute trip together for anything in the world. While she was uttering her last words, the fairy laid her magic wand on the fluffy head of the mascot and, no sooner had she done so than Star was moving and breathing, again, just as she was doing every evening, for several minutes. And so precious she was, alive and all glowing in her white flowery embroidered gown, wearing black peasant sandals and a red woollen girdle around her waist!
“Thank you, fairy Bidi-Dibi!”, said Star and, of course, she made no reproach for the delay, but smiled friendly instead. “What’s your surprise for tonight?”, she added impatiently. • “Well”, answered the fairy, “how about learning about other Christmas traditions?”
Bidi-Dibi didn’t wait for an answer, which would have been enthusiastically positive anyway, and the next second the two friends were in Austria. “Wow!”, exclaimed Star. “The houses are so beautifully decorated! And all these lovely stalls!” “That’s right, Star. It is always like this here at this time of the year. You know, the Christmas fairs open five weeks before the 25th December. People call them Christkindmarkt…” “Christlpb-arkt what?”, asked Star. “Christkindmarkt. After just one week”, continued the fairy, “that is four weeks before Christmas, the Austrian people celebrate the Advent. This is when they…”
“…decorate their houses with fir-tree wreaths with four candles”, interrupted Star. “And every candle stands for one of the four weeks, which also means that they light a candle a week, don’t they?” “Very well, Star. But you’re a smart doll. I can’t say I’m surprised. During the Christmas Eve, the families decorate the Christmas tree and arrange the scene of the Birth of Christ.
When they have finished this, they serve the dinner, for which they usually have fish. Most of them go to church, where children bring a cup of milk, a present for Baby Jesus.” “That is so beautiful!”, exclaimed little Star.
“It is, isn’t it? But there is still more to find out. Spain, here we come! Hold on tight, Star!” So they took off again. Star, who was afraid of height, closed her eyes the moment she stopped feeling the earth under her feet. But, since Bidi-Dibi kept talking about how lovely Spain was from up there, Star braced herself and caught a glimpse, maybe two, of it. “Look, Star”, said the fairy, “the Christmas Eve is called Noche Buena here, which means the Good Night. People eat traditional almond cookies during this evening. Mmm, they must be so tasty!” “Yaaa”, swallowed the ever greedy mascot. “Do you think we could find some?”
“Maybe. And the children”, continued the fairy, “fill their little boots with carrots, straws and barley and leave them in front of the door for the maguses’ horses. And then, during the Night of the Epiphany, the children receive candies and toys from their dearest magus, Baltazar, who comes on a donkey…” “But, I thought you said that they were riding horses.”, interrupted again the inquisitive little doll. “And so I did, but that’s the tradition here.”, replied Bidi-Dibi, half puzzled and half annoyed for being accused of inaccuracy. . “Well, now I think it’s time we left for Tur…”, she hurried to change the topic. But while she was saying that, a sharp tick-tack put an end to the fairy’s sentence. The five minutes were over.
“Time’s up. I’m sorry, Star.” “Oh! Don’t worry. It’s been most wonderful, anyway. Just, I really wanted to find out a bit about Turkish Christmas traditions…” “Oh, don’t be disappointed, Star. However, they don’t celebrate Christmas in Turkey. But they celebrate The New Year with a lot of joy. They visit their relatives on this occasion and they party until very late. They also wish each other health and prosperity. It is love, friendship and mutual gratitude that bring them together and that means that their feelings are very similar to those Christian people share. Perhaps we’ll have the chance to spend along with them. It’ll be fun! Now, little friend, I must take you back home.”
“As a matter of fact I’m quite sleepy. Do you think we could get there faster?” And in a wink, Star found herself on her familiar shelf where she felt so comfortable. She rested her scented little head on the book next to her and had the time to put a “thank you” cheerful smile on her face. With the same gentle touch, the fairy made her a doll again. Star fell asleep quickly. She was pretty tired after the five intense minutes. “Good night, little Star”, said the fairy. “Sleep well, sleep tight. Don’t let the big bugs bite…”
