A very different Christmas...
I had been thinking about blogging, and then I told myself I was too busy. Now, I just finished reading Splindarella's blog, and remembered how much I actually enjoy doing this... so I'm back.Fist of all, I hope anyone reading this had a happy whatever it is you celebrate. Regardless of your religious affiliation (or lack thereof) I wish you a safe and happy end of the year. May 2006 bring you good health, good things and peace.
This was the first Christmas I spent far from my parents. D and I had always said that once we got married we'd start alternating Christmas with our families. Since I just came back from a wonderful holiday with my family (we spent a week in Costa Rica in November), and I just started a new job (and therefore have zero vacation), we spent it with his family. Let me think of how to say (or write) this nicely... they are different, very different!
At home (my home), Christmas is a big event. First of all, we celebrate Christmas Eve, it normally kicks off with Mass, and then we have a big dinner and presents and stuff. We all dress up, and stay up chatting about whatever until the wee hours of the morning. We open a couple of bottles of wine, have a bottle of bubbly, and just relax and enjoy each others' company. Mom has been preparing stuff for a couple of days, and on Christmas Eve we just put the final touches on whatever we're going to eat that day (it's pretty much always the same food, a mixture of typical Mexican dishes... but that's not the point of this blog).
This year, Christmas Eve came and went without fanfarre... I took D. to church (old habits die hard - or never die), we went to a bar (a bar!!!) and met up with some friends, and then went to sleep.
Christmas Day we met with his family for breakfast. After breakfast we loitered around for a while and then opened presents. Then we all did our own thing (!!!), D. played a video game (oh boy! my grandmother would have killed - yes, killed him), his sister-in-law did laundry (on Christmas Day???) and his Dad put in a movie. Yup, that was the centre of our get-together, the TV... After a while his Mom went over to start preparing dinner, and after dinner we met up with some friends at a movie theatre.
Trust me, I'm not criticizing, I'm just flabbergasted by the abismal differences between traditions and what one family does and the way another spends their holiday. Will I ever adjust to his way of celebrating? I doubt it, let's keep in mind I've been spending Christmas my way for the past umptisquat years, at this rate, it will take umptisquat years to 'de-condition' my behaviour.
namaste,
posted by ap @ 2:17 PM
1 Comments:
Girl, I can certainly relate! For years I had to hunt down my husband's relatives on Christmas and ask if they'd managed to find the gifts I'd HANDMADE for them simply because I never got so much as a thank-you without inquiring. This year Christmas eve at my in-laws' involved my husband moving furniture, my nephew playing video games, and my bro-in-law passing out company promos. At least my mom-in-law cooked up a big Chinese-American feast and we all sat around the table eating and chatting (albeit with the aforementioned nephew playing video games throughout it all). Can I spend Christmas eve with your family next year?? *g*
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