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Anetta swaps homeland tradition for Aussie Xmas

LEAVING behind a cosy winter Christmas for a warm Aussie festive season is something Anetta Igel is looking forward to despite some quiet yearnings for her family traditions in Germany.

Anetta reckons Devonport is a good place to spend Christmas. The 32-year-old said it didn’t matter where in the world you were as long as the festive spirit was alive and well. She said it was not so much a need to be with family, but rather a longing for belonging and if you can find it with 50-odd foreigners in an old hospital on Tassie’s North-West Coast you’ve got it made.

‘‘I was travelling around the other day and found myself saying I had to go home to Devonport. It’s comfortable like that . . . as long as you have good friends to share the experience.’’

The German drama teacher grew up with Christmases thick with family tradition but, will this year spend her first festivities in 32 years away from family.

Devonport’s Tasman House Backpackers’ Accommodation will host an international Christmas dinner and concert for around 80 backpackers from around the world on Christmas day.

Ben Jorgensen plans to be there. He’s a 31-year-old labourer from Buxton in country Victoria, who came to Tassie for a break and a spot of apple picking. The pair met less than two weeks ago and Ben’s already eaten most of Anetta’s German Christmas cookies . . . the other backpackers ate the rest.

Anetta hails from Dortmund in Germany’s west. The city of 600,000 was once known for its industrial exploits and beer breweries. Her family has lived on a century-old estate for more years than she cares to count and so her family celebrations often had a traditional swing.

‘‘We’ve always celebrated on Christmas Eve,’’ Anetta said. ‘‘We’d stoke up the fire because it’s extremely cold outside and then my two brothers and I would get into the kitchen. Together the trio would cook by candlelight. ‘‘Sometime’s we’d even get Dad in the kitchen,’’ Anetta said. ‘‘I guess it’s something I’d become used to and you don’t really appreciate that closeness till you leave it behind.’’

She said one of the best Christmas traditions was the entire family feasting around a fondue and talking together. She said the chatter was rarely about anything important, but it was a tradition she recalled fondly. Anetta also said the Christmas cheer was always given a good kick along by her mates when they converged on the local pubs.

She said that aspect had become a more recent tradition but a good one nevertheless. She admitted the average festive German drank a lot of beer and wine and a concoction of water, rum and sugar which would leave any Aussie flat on his back.

‘‘If you drank it here in the heat you’d get drunk far too easily,’’ Anetta said.

Meanwhile, Ben said his Christmas had progressed through the years from a traditional spread to a more Aussie style banquet. ‘‘We still have a big feed but it’s more cold cuts and barbecues, ’’ Ben said. ‘‘I think it gets more practical as you get older.’’

Anetta won’t miss her traditional white Christmas. ‘‘Last year I spent the best part of December in New Zealand and everybody was stripped off at the beach and one particular day I heard the song Dreaming of a White Christmas. It was a little ironic really and I thought to myself . . . keep dreaming,’’ Anetta said. ‘‘I guess you become really accustomed to those cosy Christmas days at home.’’

The world traveller said she’d also come to appreciate a whole lot more in the southern hemisphere. ‘‘When I went home Christmas last year I woke the early hours of the morning and it was so dark and silent. That’s when I realised what missed the most from this half of the world . . . there were birds to sing in the morning.

Both the backpackers planned to remain in the State into the New Year. Ben has already ventured into some of the more remote areas of the West Coast and hoped to explore the East Coast. In the meantime he’ll soak up the festivities alongside his German mate. She may even teach him the finer points of German beer drinking..