Wedding Party - by Nigel A James
Lucy Nemetz
An Austrian
Marriage tradition.
Weddings in
Austria are just as much about giving as are for receiving. And,
tradition dictates that no one goes home empty handed. These
small gifts for the guests can be anything. They range from small
ornaments to cakes to flowers, and anything else one can think of.
But, the challenge is finding something original; everyone
wants to be different. These little gifts are the things that people
remember. And, Lucy Nemetz's grand-daughter Julia, who's about to
get married, got her inspiration whilst working in Africa!
Julia and
her fiancée Christoph were in Eritrea and coming to the end of an
exhausting tour of hospital duty, and they needed a break before
returning to Austria. So, off these two doctors went to the coast!
And, whilst having lots of fun in the Southern Atlantic they started
planning their wedding. But, what to give their guests as a
thank-you? But, they needn't have worried!
Back in the
hospital where Christoph and Julia worked, their friends had been
busy. They had all clubbed together for a farewell present. And,
what they had chosen was something very unusual (that is to say for
Julia and Christoph). It was a huge block of salt! And, then all
was explained.
In some
parts of Africa, salt is a wonderful present. It is not only
essential for life and good health, but great for good taste as well.
And, one block of salt can last for a very long time! And, Julia had
an idea. Salt! This was the answer. The perfect thank-you present
for their wedding guests. And, what could be better than sharing
pure goodness? So, back came the salt to Vienna and granny.
And now,
Lucy Nemetz's kitchen is the centre of pre-wedding action. Her
husband Walter, Julia's grandfather, is busy scraping the salt into
granules, and Lucy Nemetz is busy filling small jars, one for
each guest, and there are 200 coming! Lots of hard work and many late
nights.
And, that's
why grand-parents are known as the salt of the earth. What we would
we do without them! Especially when it comes to filling up small
jars with salt. So, be careful when you offer to help at your
grand-daughter's wedding.
You, too may end up filling up jars. But, with what?
If you're
lucky it could be something like chocolate. Something you could
secretly lick whilst you're at it. But, even the sweetest of
things can be sour, and salt, when used with great caution, makes
everything tasty. And, by-the-way, salt stands for good luck in many
parts of the world. And what could be better than wishing Julia and
Christoph good luck for their future? Our thoughts will go with
them!
Vocabulary
at it – dabei
sein
clubbed together –
zusammen gespart
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