two couples combine their different cultures at Christmas and shares their memories of holidays gone by.

Reimar and Wendi Fiedler celebrate the holidays German style creating an atmosphere that is always special for their children.

Mr. Fiedler is from Germany and the whole idea of Christmas there seems to carry with it a feeling of amazement.

He explains: "When I was young the first excitement came on the night of December 5 when Nikolaus arrived to remind the children of the coming holidays and the importance of being good. Nikolaus reports back to Santa Claus.

"In the evening the children would put their boots outside the door and the next morning the boots were filled with fruits, chocolates and candies, but also a few little twigs decorated with candies to remind them that not all went well during the year.'' Mr. Fiedler added that in Germany it is only on the night of December 24 that the Christmas tree comes in the house and is decorated with real candles.

"Around 6 p.m. everyone in the family waits with great anticipation for `Weihnachtsmann' (Santa Claus) to come with a big bag of presents.'' He also said that unlike this side of the world Santa is seen by the family giving gifts, he doesn't come down the chimney in the middle of the night.

The Fiedlers have stuck with the German way of celebrating Christmas but they also add a few Bermudian traditions as Mrs. Fiedler is Bermudian.

"I like to do a German Christmas and add things from here like the nativity scene, cassava pie, and Christmas puddings,'' Mrs. Fiedler said.

She added: "When I was growing up the first sign that Christmas was coming was `the Irish package' that we received in the mail from my grandmother.

"We could not open the presents until Christmas. We would go to church on Christmas Eve and in the morning we could open one present before breakfast and afterwards we opened the rest. Our Christmases were very family orientated.'' Mrs. Fiedler said celebrating with a German style adds a mystical feeling to Christmas.

"It really comes down to how you want to mix the best of both cultures. It suits our family and works well.'' Michel Chameau -- who is French -- and his Bermudian wife Ronnie celebrate the holidays by combining a little of both cultures.

Mrs. Chameau said that Christmas growing up for her meant being around her mother, father and two brothers.

"We had a wonderful Christmas. In July or August we would go up to Clarks Hill in St. David's and pick out and mark our cedar tree. And two or three days before Christmas Eve my father and brothers would go cut it down,'' Mrs.

Chameau said.

She added: "In those days Christmas was more religious. My father would take us on the ferry to Robinson's Drug Store in St. George's to get our balloons and hats and then we went in to the Square to sing Christmas carols.

Combining cultures to celebrate Christmas From Page 37 decorated on Christmas Eve but when we woke up in the morning it was all decorated. My parents had done it after we went to bed so we would be surprised.

"We would then go off to church, it was a real family time. We would visit cousins and other family.

"A lot of my family was in St. David's so we would all sit around exchanging gifts.

"The week before Christmas we had the Christmas pudding soaking and we would sit around an old tin tub and peel cassava. To this day the smell of fresh cassava always brings memories back along with the smell of fresh paint because people would always give their homes a little touch up before the holidays.'' Mr. Chameau said during the first six or seven years of his life there was not much Christmas celebrating because of the war.

"My parents took me to West Africa where I had my first Christmas. We used casuarina trees as Christmas trees and we would decorate them a few days before Christmas with real candles which we would light on Christmas Eve.

"We would go to bed early so we wouldn't see Santa.'' Mr. Chameau added that on Christmas morning everyone would wake up and go to church and then come home for a nice Christmas lunch before opening presents and going visiting.

"The week before Christmas was very church orientated as it prepared us for the holidays. The nativity scene was also very important.'' Mrs. Chameau said they start decorating early for Christmas and preparing for friends. "Michel is famous for his French hot mulled wine and pate M.'' She said: "We usually have Christmas dinner at midnight on Christmas Eve as a French tradition, and on Christmas Day we will have my family for dinner with cassava pie and all the trimmings.'' GERMAN INFLUENCE -- Mr. and Mrs. Reimar Fiedler FRENCH CONNECTION -- Mr. and Mrs. Michel Chameau