A tale of two Christmases

Despite being surrounded by commercial Christmas in the shops and city centre streets, it took me a long time to get into the Christmas spirit. I suspect it was partly because of all the ongoing covid uncertainty, and doubts about whether and how we might be able to celebrate this year: perhaps subconsciously, maybe even consciously, I didn't want to get my hopes up only to have them dashed by a positive test... I know for many that was, indeed, their reality.  

Because for me Christmas is not about stuff, it is very much about people. And it is people, not stuff, we have so often found ourselves deprived of these last couple of years. 

In the end, although there were some changes to some of the things I had planned over the festive period, and some of those I would have shared them with; I was lucky enough to be able to enjoy not one, but two beautiful Christmases. 

On 25th December, we had something that I had perhaps previously come to take for granted and that this year we had hardly dared to hope for ... a beautiful celebration of Christmas with lots of people gathered together in the flat at Carrs Lane. 

There was laughter and noise and a fair amount of mess and chaos ... but also a very unchaotic, perfectly orchestrated delicious Christmas dinner for 13. There was lots of food, endless washing up, the sharing of thoughtful gifts, the excitement of children.

There was conversation and warmth and friendship and family.

Then, on 7th January (because of something to do with the Julian and Gregorian calendars and the extraction of a number of days at a certain point in history), many of the Orthodox traditions celebrate Christmas.  And one of the group decided that Stories of Hope and Home, this group of people, this family, was exactly who she wanted to be celebrating Christmas with. 

So once again there was laughter and noise and a fair amount of mess and chaos but also delicious food and traditional Eritrean coffee with fresh-roasted beans (without setting the fire alarm off!). There was a gathering of friends as well as those we had never met before made to feel welcome. 

There was conversation and warmth and friendship and family. 

All of these, and others, are those I call family. And this, for me, is what Christmas spirit looks like. The building of communities which stretch wide in welcome, the creating of spaces where light and laughter shine. 

So although everyone else had apparently already moved on by then: I found Easter Eggs in the shops almost a week before Christmas, and the German market and all its paraphernalia was already being tidied away two days before the 25th; and although I wasn't sure I would, I did, in fact, in the end find my Christmas spirit. 

But now, it is the 2nd February, Candlemas, today I will finally be taking the decorations down and I declare Christmas closed!