Hundreds of candles flickered in the graveyard on Christmas Eve
But it ceased to be a 'silent night', as villagers made the main street their dance floor.
It was Christmas Eve and snowflakes fell softly on the little village of Brixen-im-Thale. Donning boots and ski-jackets, the few tourists that had discovered this remote winter wonderland joined the villagers’ solemn procession down the main street, with numbers increasing as the throng neared the church.
Fifty-odd years ago, rural Austrians tended to stay in their home villages, with generations of family graves in the churchyard. And as each family visited its graves, candles were lit in the darkness, until every grave had a candle on it. From inside the church, the sound of the organist playing ‘Silent Night’ wafted out. Then the bells summoned us to Midnight Mass.
After the service, row upon row of people linked arms and progressed back along the main street, singing. Suddenly, from halfway up a mountain, a brass band struck up a foot-tapping dance tune and the whole village danced its way into Christmas.
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