We were brought up programmed by what our family taught us or practiced. As we grew older, we got exposed to all sorts of activities from our friends and colleagues. These were how I perceived matters associated with Christmas.
1 — Snow
It was the time of the year where the US was filled with snow. I got to know certain parts of the US did not have snow too. I had been fascinated with the sight of snow from television programs or movies. It seemed fun playing with snow. I had never experienced snow, but the refrigerator filled with ice formed all over was enough to amuse me.
2 — Snowman
It was all about Frosty the snowman. I heard the song many times from when I was young till now. Usually, the Christmas song was played in the shopping mall. Thus snow fascinated me because people built a snowman. They placed the winter scarf around it and snapped beautiful pictures. Down the road, it was about Olaf! I bought Olaf the soft toy when I needed a hug last year. I was feeling down. It helped.
3 — Christmas tree
I loved the tree because of its ornaments. Then the blinking colorful lights decorated around it. It looked beautiful. I imagined it between 2 comfortable sofas and people gathered around to hear stories from grandparents. The tree ornaments had their symbols. The dove. The red-and-white sugar cane, the colorful balls, and so on. The top of the tree was always with the star. There were red felt-cloth socks hanged around as decorations too.
4 — Gifts or Presents
I loved presents, but I did not grow up given such luxuries. I experienced it during my working life. The organizations always had dinner parties or gift exchanges. People bought gifts within a budget set by the organizer. Some of them recycled things they did not want from their homes. Yes. It happened. It was a challenge to say, “Well, it’s the thought that counts.”
5 — Food fiesta
I used to be invited over for Christmas dinner or meal at anyone’s place. They knew I needed it to be halal food. Whatever they served in wine and alcohol were separated. But what fascinated me was the decorations and types of food.
It could be as simple as a bowl of corn, salad, ham, turkey, chicken, duck, and cakes. There were spaghetti and mashed potatoes. The visitors also brought their food like a potluck. Some ordered Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) on top of so much food available. The home was opened for a sleepover.
6 — Movies
Year in and out, I watched the movie Home Alone. The character Kevin was a little bit of my childhood. I resonated with the movie a lot. Too bad my country, most of us lived in the units from a high-rise building. I looked forward to watching Home Alone and every other movie about Hope. Because that was one of the messages from Christmas Day, right?
7 — Fireplace
It was the time of the year where homes in the US projected in Home Alone, had fireplaces lit. I imagined the Americans stayed home as the snow built up tall. They wore thick socks, winter gloves, and winter clothes too. They sat around the fireplace to keep warm.
The living room was where the fireplace could be seen. There were red sofas and a Christmas tree in between. The gifts were all laid around the tree in colorful wrapping papers and ribbons. Wow. Everyone drank Hot Chocolate milk and ate Gingerbread man biscuits.
8 — Santa Claus and team
There was Santa Claus. And his team also were present. I read up that he was Saint Nicholas. My former classmates said he brought joy to the orphanages and broken-hearted ones. Only the fortunate ones would be able to meet him.
At the shopping malls, I used to see someone dressed up as Santa Claus for photo taking together. There was Santa Maria, and she was the pretty girl. Some Elves were handsome men.
9 — Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer
Rudolph was remembered during Christmas. It was the most outstanding reindeer among the rest. Its nose was red. Why did Rudolph remind me of Sven in the movie Frozen? Hmm…
10 — There are 12 Days of Christmas
I used to hear this song often. My secondary school classmates used to share that each day represented something. There was a boxing day too. It was when the family sat around and started unwrapping the gifts happily.
Since I do not celebrate Christmas, the day itself became a rest day for me. But within that 12 days, my friends would catch up for a meal. We would exchange gifts. We were with people known as the happy pills or positive vibes only.
What would I be doing for Christmas Day this year? Well… Hmm…Stay home, drink hot chocolate milk, bite on ginger breadman biscuits, watch Home Alone movie again, and rest. What about you?
Here, Jacqui Smith’s article on Christmas. I enjoyed her piece.
And I do recommend this article written by Haley Whitehall about mindfulness when drinking a cup of coffee.
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