MEMORIES OF A TREASURED CHRISTMAS

Ever since I was a child, Christmas has been my
favorite holiday. Of course, if you have been following
my tidbits the past few weeks, you already know this.
I love the way Christmas makes me feel. As soon as
December hits, the weather drops and the lights go up;
my mood just lifts up. Right before writing this column, I
submitted my last assignment of the semester, and—a
few days ago—found out that I would be
reunited with several close friends in a
few weeks. My sister will be home from
college soon, I get to pull out comfortable
sweaters which I haven’t worn since
last winter and my family Secret Santa
is officially underway. I mean, how could
I could not be excited about the holiday
season?
Thinking about the fact that we have
officially entered the holiday season
makes me think of all the Christmases
I have had in my 24-years. In a tidbits
from a few weeks ago I stated that one of
the aspects I love most about the holiday
is that it emphasizes the importance of
togetherness. My family takes this very
seriously and, ever since I have been
young, I have spent the holiday season
with, not only my parents and sister, but
with different family members and friends
over the years. For example, I spent last
year with a close cousin, will spend this
year with my best friends and may spend
next year with another close cousin.
Keeping with that, the two Christmas
years which I will remember for the rest
of my life, were Christmas 2007 and
Christmas 2008. In 2007, I got to spend
Christmas in India with my mother’s
side of the family. If I could describe
Christmas with my family in India I would
say—exciting and crazy. I always love
seeing my family as it is, but it’s just that
much more exciting during Christmas
time. The days prior to Christmas consist
of shopping for gifts to give one another,
visiting extended family members and
gathering in the living room and watching
Christmas movies. And, when Christmas Day comes,
we all turn into excited children. There is no-one in
the family who still believes in Santa but, since we
don’t know what another person has gifted us, the air
of excitement of finding out what we got is still there.
We open the presents from the youngest person to the
oldest person and my uncle—my mom’s brother—likes
to count up the number of presents everyone gets and
then compares it to his own amount. Of course, in 2007,
my sister was only 9, so she got more presents than my
uncle did. He spent the entire day saying “Rahee got 20
presents and I only got 2”. Of course this was all in good
fun, and further added to the craziness of Christmas
with my mom’s family.
A year later, in 2008, we spent Christmas
with my dad’s family in London. Christmas
in London is quite different than the ones
in India. For one, there’s a lot more people,
because not only do we spend it with
my dad’s family, but also with my dad’s
sister’s husband’s family. Furthermore,
the days before Christmas are spent quite
normally; mostly consisting of relaxing
and bonding. Christmas Day itself a full
day affair. I remember waking up quite
early, eating a small and quick meal,
gathering in the sitting room to open presents,
and then—after we had all showered
and dressed in our best clothes—we all
gathered in the dining room to eat a huge
Christmas dinner. In the evening we went
on a walk around the neighborhood and
then came back to home to settle in and
watch a television show. But what made
this particular year most special was that
it was the last time my entire dad’s side of
the family was all together—grandparents,
children and grandchildren. Unfortunately,
we lost my grandfather two years later
and my grandmother three years later, so
I will always treasure this Christmas.
This year I will be reunited with my
best friends, most of whom I haven’t
seen since 2012 and one who I haven’t
seen 2003. I have a feeling that, in a few
years, when I write another article about
my favorite Christmases over the years,
Christmas 2017 will make the list.
What are your favorite
Christmas related memories?