Because Lisa had approximately 5,327 bags of Christmas presents and things, we took a taxi from her house to her parents' for Christmas Eve. Lisa chatted with the taxi driver, a jovial, white-haired German guy, and asked how late he had to work. (Christmas Eve being the main celebration in Germany, not Christmas Day.)
"Oh, till morning," he said.
"All evening?" Lisa asked.
"All night," he confirmed, but didn't seem too put out about it. "On Christmas Eve, da tut sich einiges [there's plenty going on]."
For many years now, he said, it seems to be standard that young people "swarm" into the city after the present-giving's over, not wanting to sit around their parents' houses, which means there's plenty of work for him all night.
"And I don't work New Year's," he said. "New Year's, we're going on vacation."
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