Budding Capitalism

Today, on December 28, the day that is commemorated as the Day of the Massacre of the Innocents, children go schappen in Carinthia. You can read about this custom in this Wikipedia article here (German only), but basically it is children going from door to door to wish good luck and get money and/or sweets in return. A bit like trick-or-treating.

My mum and I were getting ready to go skiing when the doorbell rang. Dad and I rummaged for coins and opened the door to a little boy who asked if he could schapp us. When he had finished his short routine and pocketed his money, Dad was about to close the door when he noticed another boy who had lurked nearby and overheard the short but efficient exchange between them. "How much?" second boy simply asked the successful returnee schapper. The answer must have been satisfactory as he rang our doorbell about 3 seconds after that...