We wander into a field, all covered with snow. We shape snowballs and throw them at each other, landing nasty, painful strikes. We make a snowman, one that looks like a gruesome chimera of bear and Tyrannosaurus Rex.
Afterwards, there is Glühwein at the Christmas market. The mulled wine is hot, spicy and the very flavour of festivity.
None of us have gone home to our families in distant and not-so-distant lands for the holidays. Instead we snuggle up against each other on the worn-but-comfy couch in the student lounge and watch DVDs. A Wong Kar-wai movie marathon. I re-translate some of the iffy German translations. We drink, we eat. We are merry.
Fifteen years ago, this. Just like yesterday.