[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Christmas carols sound in the medieval square, and the scents of hot spiced wine, anise cookies and beeswax candles waft through the air at Zwickau's traditional Christmas market.
The four children of the Habashieh family, Muslim Syrian refugees, wander from stand to stand, looking with big eyes at all the mouthwatering delicacies -- filled with joy that they will be spending their first German Christmas in the warmth of their own home.
Only weeks ago, Khawla Kareem, the matriarch, was so desperate about life in Germany that she said she would rather brave the bombs in Damascus than spend another day in a cramped shelter with no privacy, no school for her children and fear of racist attacks.
Today, she couldn't be happier: Following months in a succession of squalid asylum centers, German authorities found them an empty apartment where they could live with modest dignity. The family has joined in the Christmas spirit of their neighbors, decorating the door of their flat with glittery red bells and tree branches in green and gold.
"We're fully integrated now," Reem Habashieh, the family's oldest daughter, says with a twinkle in her eye. Her little sister Raghad, 11, even has a toy Christmas calendar like most German kids, where each date is a door that opens to reveal chocolate in the countdown to Christmas eve.
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