Bringing in the New Year Chez Freddie and Kandee - 01/01/2007
This is the way we do it often at our house: there is a special occasion and so we start by inviting one couple, then another couple, then each of our kids invite one friend, then another friend, and by the time our party happens, we have a house-full!!! This year our New Years Eve party happened just like that. Kandee's idea was to have a big fondue party: Oil Fondue, Cheese Fondue, then Chocolate Fondue. Our whole family invited freinds, here and there. Before long, we had around 35 people celebrating the new year with us!!! It was a fun event! Sure a bit crazy, but fun! At around 11 o'clock the fire crackers started sounding off in Kandern. Our houseful of guests migrated outside and lit our own fireworks, then we went to the center of town where hundreds of towns people were coming out to set off their fireworks! The whole town was light up with fireworks, going off all around us!! Gutes neues Jahr! Germans, at the strike of mid-night were giving each other kiss on the cheek, the same kind of greeting that we did in France. Bonne année! The Americans present were shaking hands and wishing, Happy New Year! Another missionary who worked in France for years was joking with me about how the French people always would say, Bonne Annee et surtout bonne sante!" Being translated, Happy new year and especially, Good health!" Always without exception, "et surtout la bonne sante!" It never failed. It was customary for the French to have a drawn out wish specific for each person, always adding, and especially good health. I always liked to use the verse in 3 John verse 2, "Dear Friend, I am praying that all is well with you and that you body is as healthy as I know your soul is." That is, I would say, "Dear friend, my wish for you is that in this new year, your soul would be healthy and that your body would be just as healthy." Well, after our Kandern fireworks, we came back to the house. Some people went home, others stayed around until 2am. Some of the kids friends stay overnight with us. It was a fun event! Oh, by the way, I do wish each of you a year of great health for your soul and yes, may your body be as healthy as your soul is." 
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