Neighbourhood Advent Calendar A street all lit up, warming hearts
Beuel · Every evening, Dunantstraße in Beuel becomes a little brighter, as each house has one more window lit up. The idea of the neighbourhood Advent calendar comes from a time of crisis.
Julia Rosner Punctually at 6:30 p.m., the residents of Dunantstraße gather every evening in front of one of the houses and marvel at the decorated little window of the day. "In 2020, in the lockdown, everything was grey. Everyone retreated," Sandra Schmidt remembers.
The teacher has lived with her family in Beuel for ten years. "Our neighbourhood life is actually very active: we like to chat by the fence or look after each other's cat and house when someone is on holiday." That's what she had missed especially during the pandemic, she said.
As Advent 2020 approached, she had an idea: the whole street should become more colourful and pre-Christmas. More lights and decorations were needed to brighten up the neighbours' Christmas preparations. But Schmidt couldn't decorate the street alone, so she wanted to get everyone on board. The result was an XXL Advent calendar in the street - ensuring that at least 24 houses were decorated.
Many wanted to join in
Schmidt approached her neighbour Annette Thome with her idea, who has lived on Dunantstraße for over 20 years and was immediately enthusiastic about it. Since not everyone should be persuaded to decorate their entire house, the two agreed on one window per house and wrote down their idea in a letter to the neighbours. Thome: "We were surprised how many got back to us. Except for two days, our window Advent calendar was quickly filled.
Every day, a different family decorated a window - firmly according to plan: with cut-out stars or deer, Windowcolour pictures, candles or simply tinsel attached to the curtain rod. The only important thing was that the day number was visible. In the evening, when it got dark, the window was then illuminated - so that every day one more colourful window could be seen on Dunantstraße. Schmidt: "The families walked through the streets. People waved at each other at a distance. That was a real glimmer of hope in those crazy times."
They also launched an appeal to neighbours in 2021. Once again, many took part in the action. "Then this year we thought very carefully about doing it again. Because when something is done three times in the Rhineland, it is a set tradition," says Thome with a laugh.
When the first enquiries from the neighbours reached the two organisers as early as September of this year, they could not avoid sending the project into its third edition. "In the meantime, we even have a Whatsapp group where we organise the division of the days". Moreover, everything has become more professional, Schmidt explains.
Unveiling with mulled wine and biscuits
Every evening this year, the residents of the street meet to unveil or illuminate the windows together. Everyone is served a warming liqueur or mulled wine from the camp cooker. Some even serve biscuits or set up a fire basket. Over time, the calendar has also been expanded, as Dunantstrasse does not have 24 numbers and neighbours of neighbours have also expressed interest. Thus, the adjacent Rathausstraße was added so that one resident does not have to decorate two windows in the house. "I have met neighbours through the campaign that I have never seen before. That makes me very happy. It's also a great way for new residents to make new acquaintances," says Thome. The plan for next year seems to be set.
Original text: Julia Rosner
Translation: Mareike Graepel
