Merry Christmas and a Wise New Year

Oh, what a year this has been! Now it’s ending, and I wish everyone a peaceful Christmas time, happy holidays, and all the best for 2024. It will be a year to make it or break it. What worries me, with my parents at very old age, it is the loss of this generation of witnesses to war and famine and how fragile societies are. At the same time, we experience conflicts where innocent people are slaughtered, unprecedented collateral damage among civilians is happening, and young men and women are thrown into a meat grinder by the thousands. In the streets and on University campuses, naive people cheer in support of terrorism, violence, war and a misguided and dangerous way of making necessary changes to battle environmental degradation. Then you have “military experts” in talk shows who have never spent a day in a trench, have never been under fire, nor shot a bullet, never seen a casualty or carried one to medics only to see them die. They make war entertainment. They speak for a “Think tank” but never heard the sound of a tank’s rear door opening and the infantry boots hitting the ground. And these two sounds are the scariest ones because this is the silence before the storm. I don’t think the world needs more agitation. It requires wisdom, competence and practical leadership on ethical grounds.

There will be elections in many countries in 2024, and last but not least, in the USA. For my German friends who are still in the country, I also wish you a good hand there for 2024 or a smooth way out. I know it’s not easy to leave a place you call home, but you may lose it anyway and leaving is the better option, not just regarding your perspectives but also about the impact you can have.

So, happy holidays and my greetings from The Beaches at Lake Ontario. And for 2024, stay strong and stay human. Whatever may come.

Christmas Eve in Frankfurt

I truly have not seen a major city as empty, as Frankfurt on Christmas Eve. Only a few Chinese were running around looking desperately for luxury shops. The few others were on their way to see their family and loved ones. And there was the atmosphere of preparation for something important to come. I had an extra piece of cake in Café Laumer. Then went to the Museum of Applied Art to see the Jil Sander exhibition, which I liked. Merry Christmas. 

Alte Oper (Old Opera) in Frankfurt. Nobody around.

Café Laumer, Frankfurt Westend. You can still sit outside. 

Christmas Markets

It is nice to be back in Germany for Christmas. I enjoy the atmosphere. Some people blame it to be too commercial these days. But it is your own choice: it is supply and demand, on any market - also the Christmas Market. Demand seems to be not that big, as many shops go in with heavy discounts, already before the feast. For me, as an orthodox atheist, Christmas is a cultural event, which is deeply rooted in Europe. And I like it. I think, that's what Alain de Button calls "Atheism 2.0". We strolled around the Christmas Markets and yesterday went to the Christmas Concert in the State Theatre in Wiesbaden. Quite fun. Have not been in a civilized concert for a while. 

People doing the last Christmas shopping on December 23rd in Wiesbaden, as seen on a ferris wheel ride.

Preparations for the Christmas Concert in the Wiesbaden State Theatre. View from the loge of William II. It is better than our seats, I have a say.