Thanksgiving is past, Christmas is coming up! I already got my Christmas decorations out on Wednesday, yesterday my friend and I made the first Christmas cookies, and I am looking forward very much to the next weeks. I’ll be in New York City to see the giant Rockefeller Christmas Tree, there is going to be a small Christmas market at work, I hope to go ice skating on at least one of the outside rinks in Boston, I’ll have eggnog and stollen, I have a ticket to see the Nutcracker ballet performance, I’ll go to Las Vegas just before Christmas and will be back to celebrate the holidays with my friends. Christmas time to me is when all the magic happens.
The number of my Christmas decorations slowly increases. Since it worked so well last year [here], I also wanted to create my own Advent wreath this year. When I was at Ikea in October, I already got candles, a plate and small Christmas bulbs. Last year I rather preferred red and silver, but this year it is definitely red and gold. Of course it is very easy to put four candles on a plate and arrange bulbs around them, but I like the result. Also I am very proud that Canavar hasn’t stolen one of the little balls yet. He usually loves everything rolling because he can push it and then chase it through the apartment.
Tomorrow morning I am going to light the first candle, and I’ll finally open the first package of gingerbread. I think I have been very patient this year, considering that I’ve had all the yummie Christmas sweets at home for several weeks – but so far I haven’t eaten any. Well, I have already tried the eggnog though. And my friend’s husband, who is a confectioner, made stollen yesterday morning so we had it for breakfast. With marzipan. I love marzipan. Even though these aren’t as good as the stollen yesterday, I might still make my own stollen cubes again [here is the recipe – in German only though].
I only realized this week that Christmas doesn’t mean anything to many people in the world. Of course I knew that, being Muslim, most people in Turkey don’t celebrate Christmas, but many still put up the decorations and exchange gifts on New Year’s Eve. But my Chinese roommate reacted surprised at all my decorations (which are actually not that many) and that’s how I learned that the majority of Chinese people doesn’t celebrate Christmas at all, and also they don’t seem to know much about it. Also our New Year’s Eve apparently isn’t as important as the Chinese New Year. And that’s how I got a very interesting cultural lesson.
I still haven’t told her though that I really want a Christmas tree. This year I’ll buy it in the city because cutting a Christmas tree is expensive and takes quite some time as I learned last year [here]. I think my roommate will be okay with a tree because it won’t take up too much space and she will be gone from mid-December until the start of January. But Canavar and I love our Christmas trees. I do because to me they are the highlight of all decorations, and Canavar because there are so many bulbs to play with and a real tree is per se a very exciting thing.
This is only the start of this year’s Christmas time, and I have a feeling that there are wonderful five weeks ahead of us, full of magic, lights and sweets. My ugly Christmas sweaters are ready, the apartment is decorated and I can’t wait for all the fun to start.
I wish you a great first weekend in Advent!
© janavar