December: Nostalgia, Reflection And Hope

 December

 

The countdown to December starts in October. In other words, the countdown to Christmas begins then. For the Christian community, December is synonymous with Christmas. It’s party time and a period for family reunions. The preparations for the festivities begin in October or even earlier. Many thus wrap up December on a joyful and hopeful note, looking forward to a brand new start in the new year. 

If I walk down memory lane, I’d find myself back in the little cottage that I lived in with Mom, Dad, and Brother. Mom prepared a fantastic array of Christmas sweets and savouries almost single-handedly. I so vividly recall dad stringing up the red and white streamers across the living room ceiling, the excitement of arranging the crib and decorating the Christmas tree and the can’t-wait-to-open presents.’ The best curtains and cushion covers were brought out, and little me faithfully penned a letter to Santa for quite a few years. I don’t remember attending the church midnight service, most likely because of the harsh Jamshedpur winters, but we did attend the Christmas morning services dressed in our brand-new, shiny Christmas clothes. I also recall the month-long school vacation and carolling as a teenager. Basking in the winter sunshine and downing cups of warm beverages, wearing thick sweaters—these are winter memories that I hold dear.

Post my marriage in 1995, I’ve been living in Mumbai, where Christmas is celebrated with great fervour, but winter remains just a nip in the air.

Well, December to me is not just about winter and Christmas. Personally, I view December as a bittersweet month that invites you to reflect on the year gone by, focus on the positives, and let go of the negatives. You express joy and gratitude for every blessing received during the year, while the month gently nudges you to clear out the clutter and chaos and move into a bright new year, hoping for the best! 

As I count my blessings, the high point would be the travelling that I was able to do, my health remained pretty stable, a few windows that I needed to desperately open have opened, and I know that life will not stop throwing curveballs. I hope and pray that I'm able to negotiate them in the New Year.

This is my entry to the Blogchatter Weekly prompt.  

What does December mean to you? How do you like to close your year? 

Where Have All The Christmas Cards Gone?

 The one thing that I miss dreadfully about Christmas is the good old Christmas card. 

While the seamstress and confectioner gear up to take on the onslaught of the festive season and every Christian household works overtime to put out their best on that special day, one charming aspect of the festival is slowly fading away... Where have all the paper Christmas cards gone?

There are generations who have grown up minus the internet or the cell phone, played Catching Cook and not Candy Crush, and enjoyed the ritual of writing and posting Christmas greetings. 

I pride myself on belonging to one of those generations. This part of the Christmas preparations was delegated to me when I was a teen. 

I sat down and made a list of whom the cards would go out to, trying not to forget anyone. First came the immediate family circle—grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins, then distant relatives and friends. 

Once I had made the list, with constant additions and subtractions, I went to stores that stocked Christmas cards. I read and reread the words on the inside and outside of the card and strove to pick a good mix of fun and spirituality, intending to send the right card to the right person. 

Then I returned home and assembled together all that was needed to send out the greetings. I carefully wrote the cards in my best schoolgirl handwriting, slipped them into their envelopes, glued or licked the required stamps onto the envelope, and handed them over to an elder to be dropped into the post box. That was one job struck off the Christmas ‘to-do' list.

In the meantime, as the festival drew nearer, the trips to the letterbox grew more frequent—I snatched a moment or two every day to peer into the letterbox to find out if Mr. Postman had made my day. Sometimes he did, sometimes not. 

On good days, I collected the cards, ran home, opened each, and exclaimed in delight as I read the sender's name. The cards were kept away carefully to be strung up along with the decorations. Some precious old ones also found a place alongside the new ones.

Emojis and digital greetings are no substitute for the charm of writing and posting Christmas cards. They are the closest one can get to a hug on this special day. 

Do you send e-cards or go with the virtual ones?  

Image credit: Pixabay.

Penny The Partying Penguin

 

Penny The Partying Penguin

 

Penny was a ‘party penguin’. She loved to party and lived a lavish life. She had left home to work in an office, where she earned a good salary. However, she hardly saved anything because she was a spendthrift.  Penny sent her parents money but not regularly.   

Soon it would be Christmas. All the Penguins were busy preparing for Christmas, cleaning and decorating their homes and buying tasty treats. Penguin Place wore a very festive look with lights and buntings everywhere. All the penguins were happy and in good cheer, but our Penny was sad and miserable.

She had been to the bank in the morning and found that had very little money in her account.  She could not even buy a little of her favourite fish. As she sat alone at home, big, fat tears rolled down her cheeks. What was she to do?

Penny decided to call her friend Percy. “Oh, Percy! She said, I am in so much trouble.” “My bank account is almost empty and it is Christmas.” Percy felt sorry for her. “That’s too bad, said Percy.” “I tried to warn you many times that you were spending too much money but you didn’t listen to me.” “You must always, always put away some money first before spending so lavishly.”

“I have been so careless,” said Penny sadly. “I can’t go home to Mom and Dad for Christmas, nor can I take any presents for them or Daisy, my little sister.”   

 “It's okay,” said Percy, “we learn from our mistakes.” Percy was a good friend. “I shall lend you some money, to see you through Christmas,” he said. “I am lending it to you and not giving the money to you so that you learn to be responsible.”Penny was delighted. She couldn't thank Percy enough. She wrapped her wings around him in a tight hug. 

The New Year saw a new Penny saving a little money in the bank every month. After a while, she returned the money to Percy. Penny was now also able to send her parents money every month and little prsents to her Daisy. 

This post is part of the weekly Blogchatter blog hop prompt. 

 

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!

 

Are Resolutions Valid?

 It's that time of the year when Santa is making his list of 'naughty and nice'and you

  besides getting the Christmas tree and lights out, somewhere at the back of your mind are toying with resolutions to be made  for the New Year. 

Your resolutions will be as valid as you want them to be. Even as the shine of the new year dulls and you trudge on determined to see at least one resolution through, you are winning. Its okay to fail and to fall but as long as you don't give in to,'spirit is willing but flesh is weak' your resolutions are valid. 

So its you and only you who make the resolution valid or invalid. 

This post is part of BlogchatterBlogHop and links it to Blogchatter.