Slightly askew is not permissible.
There may be protractors involved.
You would be correct in assuming this is a family of perfectionists.
Large ornaments on the bottom, small ornaments on top, gradations of size in between.
Woe to anyone who hangs a plus-size ornament mid-tree, as I once did when we were first married.
It will be rehung.
Paul doesnt find any of this at all odd.
Well, thats just always the way weve done it.
Its not like my family is perfect.
(If we were, those trees would stand a lot straighter.)
We have our own holiday weirdness.
Thats anise seed, I correct.
Why do you insist on making those awful things?
Its not Christmas without springerles.
Im sorry you lack the sophistication to appreciate fine homemade baked goods, I sniff.
Perhaps you would prefer something squeezed from a tube and adorned with artificial sprinkles.
Not everyone is a fan of springerles.
Its true, they dont have butter, and theyre exceptionally difficult to make.
But that just means you must work harder to appreciate their charms.
Assuming it’s possible for you to stick it out.
And isnt that what the holiday season is all about?
No goopy icing or chocolate glazing for us.
We need difficult cookies.
In my experience, all the German Christmas cookies are varying degrees of impossible.
Lebkuchen (ginger cookies) require boiling honey and using communion wafers as a base.
Pfeffernusse (spice cookies) are made from leftover artillery shells from the second World War.
OK, not really.
Actually, I dont know what Pfeffernusse are made of.
The ones my mother enjoys are a sort of white-glazed puck you could concuss someone with.
Hardness is a Christmas cookie metric in my family.
Its not a failing; its a desired outcome.
Last year, I sent my mother springerles, and she complained they were too soft.
So, she stuck them in the oven on a low temperature to toughen them up.
She cannot abide a weak cookie.
They do not yield easily.
I believe other cultures call this hard tack.
