Le Père Noël

It was with some trepidation that we awaited the arrival of le Père Noël this Christmas. Sara in Le Petit Village was the first to warn me about le Père Fouettard, the evil partner of the French Santa who travels around with him on Christmas eve to hand out coal and whippings to the naughty children... I will not repeat the terrible crimes he stands accused of (you can read about them here) but will admit that the stories scared me into behaving! And so on Christmas eve, when Lauris was finally tucked into bed (and we’ll wait a few years before mentioning Father Christmas’s partner to him) we hoped that in lieu of the good and evil duo we would be paid a visit by Sala vecīts, Santa Claus or Saint Nicholas.

As it turns out Lauris, our guests Matīss and Indra, Roberts and I must have been extremely good last year! While I started the crêpes in the kitchen Lauris discovered the giant construction crane in the living room (which truthfully was as much of a surprise to mom as it was to son!). We’ve been spending some time watching the construction site next to the Carrefour here in town, and Lauris’s favorite are the giant cranes (although the cement mixers come in a close second). He has become adept at spotting them before I even see them: looming over a building, out the car window and even in the dark! So imagine his joy at having an “AM-ĀH” (in Latvian the word is ceļamkrāns and Lauris has shortened it some) of his own to play with.

Learning to operate the crane with onkulis Matīss

After a late breakfast we opened presents and I was once again absolutely astonished by the lovely gifts and well wishes that appeared under our tree from across the Atlantic and Latvia. Being our first Christmas away from the parents/grandparents it was especially meaningful to me to know that all of our relatives were thinking of us and missing us as much as we them.

The rest of the day was lazily spent between the living room and the dining room, with a short break before dinner to take another walk through town and enjoy the beautiful lights. A beautiful Christmas with some of our favorite people!

The town hall, Place Delille and Place de Jaude