Happy Birthday Heike!

Today I am celebrating the birthday of one of my very best friends, Heike.  I lived in Germany for a while and came to embrace the German culture, language and food. Heike and her very lovely family come from near Cologne and I feel so blessed to have them in my life. We not only share a love of cooking, art, gardening and animals but I also get to continue to experience some of the things I miss most about the German culture. For example, birthdays!! In Germany, at least in the Pfaltz area, on your birthday you make lots of cakes and invite friends to your home for coffee. Everyone brings flowers and sometimes a gift, but mostly the gift is the gathering and sharing. For years now we have been enjoying this tradition and I love gathering Heike's gift together. I am heading there now with a gift bucket of her favorite things. Do you have a favorite birthday tradition? Does it have a cultural origin? Cheers!

                        Happy Birthday Heike!