Well - I am foreign und cannot spell two little words properly despite entire internet trying to educate me
- besides my family. My English teacher gave up..
eventually
Am a "lost cause" as far as spelling in English ist concerned....
Anyway... no matter.
I celebrate St Nickolaus Day on 6 December each year. Our children sing us a song, recite a poem or play something on musical instrument und get a little present for this entertainment. Ist part of Appenzeller tradition und each Kanton/department across German speaking countries in particular have regional differences like their regional dialects und are very proud to continue them.
Fasching? I do not go around the streets of Keswick in fancy dress beating the evil spirits out of the winter soil to ensure a good Spring und Summer where we sow the seeds und scatter to begin the next harvest.
But they do in German, Swiss und Austrian Fasching /Fasnacht .. und ist darned good custom too as ist major
factor
Und each area has a different style too .. No two Fasching are alike und no European Christmas Market ist like another either
No.. I disagree with Oxfam over no decoration und "Winterval".
It came across as very much a patronising gesture in much the same way as referring to Christmas lights as "winter lights" - even though we fused Christmas with a pagan celebration of midwinter
True Brits would celebrate Michealmas Day too (as this was Olde Worlde UK version of Fasching but a right old knees up before "old winter song breaks in with his hard cold voice" I forget which poem I quote from .. perhaps someone can find the whole thing.. ist long forgotten poem but the line caught me as 14 year old.
You Brits would do Morris dancing like we do yodelling und dances in national costume.. we all have a Kantonal Tradiotional dress which identifies like Scottish tartan identifies clans.. Appenzeller ist a distinctively red waistcoat with black und white embroidery down th front.. black trousers for men und black und red Dirndl skirt for wimmin und we all have to wear a black hat or bonnet with red ribbons und pom poms.. und on election day the men carry their bayonets for the tourists
Ist a tradition for them to raise them in salute to the bride und groom with these bayonets too.. und the relatives did this when we christened our youngest two years ago in a local Lakeland church much to the amusement of the locals
(ist also tradition back home
)
But .. all foreigners like to have a bit of "home" when they become "ex pats" .. but ist one thing to hold a little bit of home und another to try to make the indigenous of a country abide und subject to the immigrant's way of life.
If you look closely though at the UK...
we have already aborbed und embraced some foreign stuff und ideas:
1. Language.. English ist a mish-mash of Celt, Latin, Anglo-Saxon (und Olde English nearly died with William the Conqueror as teh French of 1066 dominated for centuries. Bunch of rebels
(sound familiar
) revived the language which emerged with a rich blend from these invasions. (source - excellent Melvyn Bragg research of English language und history - shown on ITV 2003 und should be repeated as a MUST VIEW or at least be released on DVD as was very interesting und informative .. und stunning photorgraphy of best of British towns und countryside
)
Apparently towns with "Thwaite" "Borough" und "Don" all have Viking past... und it seems we can identify original ancestry und founding of many towns by names .. "Chester/Caster" = Roman und other bastion of military dominance...
Was most fascinating ....
2. Our food... saffron... spices.. from the Roman/Saxon merchant trade routes..
Curry? we embraced this from India/East along with some fashions..
Current tastes for Paella, Spanish omelette.. feta cheeses, pasta dishes .. holidays abroad..
What I do not like to see ist the current whim for Islamic followers (womenfolk) to dress head to foot as some of them do these days.
I do wear a scarf und cover my arms und will wrap a long skirt over my shorter skirts (if wearing one such on hols for example) if entering a Church. However, this does not occur often as I only enter a church if I am going to sit und pray in one - und I usually dress myself accordingly in decent taste - dress, trouser suit, or modest length skirt suit. Churches abroad may be ornate .. but they are places of worship und the locals use them more than here.
If I were ever to visit the Middle East.. I would wear a scarf on my head - und cover up arms/legs - probably wear trouser suit or long swirly skirt. This ist not necessarily out of "respect but more out of the necessity to protect my skin from the sun" - which along with the pork thing (shared by all faiths in that area) had more to do with the hot climate und perhaps then absorbed into culture - eventually becoming intertwined with the religion - in much the same way as our Catholic/Protestant need to show how much we revered our God by building grand churches filled with the finest works of art und gold.
I do not actually recall staunch followers of Islam from my youth in Switzerland und visits elsewhere in Europe including UK wearing such scary garments. as now... it was a pretty scarf matching a very tasteful outfit covering arms und legs.. more like a tunic style trouser suit und more blending with the West.
I suspect more a "fashion or desire to identify with a faith" rather than purist faith.. und the argument with Choudary (a zealot) und a young Asian business woman was most enlightening. Basically he would not let either her or Vine get a word in edgeways. - a pure unreasoned rant in which he complained of being "constantly interrupted" und any listnre to that prog last Tuesday would confirm not so - und it did him no favours.... und the young lady when told she was a sinful und fallen woman for just wearing a scarf... told Choudary to "get a life mate!"
I think a little more returns to values pre 2001 would help get a grip.. as I have only really seen this trend to very traditional dress since then - or at least up here in the North.
I do think that current war und threats of war ist feeding this trend und desire to "express the culture all the more" ist a part of our current problems und now festering "intolerances"
on each side of the coin 
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