High in Switzerland, where the churches are small
and villages huddle below towering peaks,
the mighty Alps seem to shout the glory of God.
Up here, Christmas fills a wintry wonderland
with good cheer.
[ Bells clanging ]
In these villages, traditions are strong,
[ clanging continues louder ]
And warmth is a priority.
Ovens are small so wood is, too.
My family has arrived for a Swiss Alps Christmas
in the tiny village of Gimmelwald
where we're having some fun with our
friends Olle and Maria and their kids.
[ Shrieks and laughter ]
Yahoo!
Hoo! Hoo-hoo!
Whoo!
Olle is taking us high above his village
on a quest to find and cut the perfect Christmas tree.
Yeah, that's much prettier.
- What do you think? - I like it a lot.
Yeah, this is a good tree. I think we should cut it.
[ Various people exclaiming ]
[ Indistinct talking and laughter ]
Before we know it,
the light outside begins to fade.
Here's to a happy Christmas.
Cheers!
[ All laugh ]
As the sun sets, we've got our tree
and take an unforgettable ride home to Gimmelwald.
[ Laughing, shrieking ]
Back in the village, the kids take the tree home,
and we've been invited to enjoy another Christmas tradition.
While I grew up opening windows on a paper Advent calendar,
up here the windows are real.
Twenty-five homes decorate a
window for each day of Advent.
The sense of anticipation is the same
as, day by day, Christmas approaches.
[ Bells jingling, sheep bleating ]
Advent is all about anticipation.
And for the kids, much of that anticipation
is about presents:
Rewards for being not naughty, but nice.
And as we've seen, throughout Europe
each culture seems to have its own version of Santa Claus,
who serves parents
by providing children incentives for good behavior.
Here in the Alps, it's Samichlaus.
That's Swiss-German for St. Nicolas --
and his sidekick, Schmutzli.
My son, Andy, is playing Samichlaus this year.
Olle's son, Sven, is playing Schmutzli.
And the donkey is playing himself.
Each year, Gimmelwald's children anticipate a visit
from this dynamic Christmas duo.
Samichlaus surprises the children
and checks in his ledger
to see if they've been doing their chores.
Have you been feeding the cows lately?
[ Speaks Swiss-German ]
Then he might ask for song or a poem,
what would you like to sing?
[ Sings in Swiss-German ]
And the performance is always followed by a treat
from his big bag of gifts.
I hope you have a merry Christmas.
"Frohe Weihnachten!"
See you next year.
Bye.