Festive routines that I love

 

I don’t prepare for festivals like my parents and grandparents did. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.

I shall rewind to my childhood when the excitement began building up at least a month before Christmas. The spiritual preparation begins a month before with a season of reflection called Advent. The Christmas service in church is held on Christmas Eve and also on Christmas morning..

Clothes – New clothes are a big part of the Christmas festivity. I remember Mom sitting at her sewing machine and painstakingly tailoring my Christmas outfits. She turned out some beautiful stuff. As I grew into my teens and early twenties shopping for fabric with my mom was something that I looked forward to. Once we had decided upon and purchased the fabric, it was time to finalize the style and pattern and get it tailored. The early bird catches the worm and hence the earlier you stood outside the tailor’s door, the better your chances of getting the outfit on time. Today, I simply browse e-commerce portals and pick something out.

 

Christmas cards - Christmas card shopping was another activity that I enjoyed tremendously. Again, mom generally chose the cards and thoughtfully wrote them out. Later, the responsibility was delegated to me. I so loved the activity. First, you made the never-ending list, hoping you hadn’t forgotten anyone. Then you patiently wrote out the cards in your best handwriting, placed the cards in their envelopes, got together the bottle of glue and stamps and prepared them for postage. The season saw me making numerous trips to the letter box and my heart leapt at the receipt of each card- Ah! For the simple joys of life. Now, as instant as Maggi noodles, are the virtual greetings that go to and fro.

Cake, confectionery and Christmas lunch.  – The making of the traditional Christmas cake involves soaking dry fruits and preserving them in rum at least a month in advance. Mom generally did the needful and then a few days before Christmas both parents prepared the batter, pouring in the ingredients and stirring the batter manually with a wooden spoon.  Brother and I ended the process by licking the last of the batter off the spoon.

Mother worked hard to prepare a mouth-watering array of sweets, ranging from the humble kul-kul to the more intricate Chinese pigtails. I don’t remember doing much to help her, except putting my hand to make kul-kuls which required one to spread a little dough on a fork and then roll it off. Again, the parent usually dealt with frying them and dipping them in a sugary syrup.  Kul- Kuls are one of the easiest sweets to make after the dough is prepared and children are often given the task of rolling it off the fork. Neighbours exchanged plates of sweets and it was fun tasting different varieties. The gorging and tasting went on well after the Christmas season.

Sweet making has become a huge business today and I wholeheartedly support the enterprising clan by placing my order for Christmas. However, health does not permit the regular refined flour, sugar and dairy variety and hence I find myself experimenting with healthier options like almond flour, jaggery, and cold-pressed oils which are equally appealing, only one may have to acquire a taste for them which one eventually does. The ordered sweets are devoured by the offspring.

 Christmas lunch includes traditional meat preparations, some salads and Christmas sweets as desserts. The lunch and dinner menu may vary from home to home but it is all very lip–smacking.

 Christmas tree, crib and decorations.  – Dad hung red and white streamers across the living room, while Mom put out her best curtains and cushion covers. Everybody pitched in to decorate the Christmas tree. Christmas cards received were strung up, and Christmas ornaments and baubles were hung all around the house.  the baby Jesus was placed in his crib in a significant space in the living room.  Every Christian household lays out a crib, some simple and some elaborate, with mountains made from brown paper and even a social message.  My neighbourhood holds a crib competition, with each apartment complex coming together to put up a crib as creatively as possible.it is customary for each home to hang up a star outside a window.

Presents – Christmas is incomplete without Santa and presents. The little me faithfully wrote to Santa asking him for a hundred and one gifts. Dad played along, making a show of posting the letter. My sons didn’t really believe in Santa but excitedly opened their Christmas presents.  Adults remain equally excited about the exchange of gifts. Some homes place the gifts under the Christmas tree and the presets are generally opened after the midnight service or in the morning.

Caroling  - Christmas songs or carols as they are known have spiritual significance and add to the festive fervour. It is quite common to see groups of carolers visiting homes, singing their hearts out. Again, my teen years saw me join one such group. Though I am no singer, it was great fun.

 

So, as Christmas draws near, I wish you all a Happy and Holy Christmas in advance!