Christmas Magic

 One of the feelings I enjoy around the football world cup is the feeling of celebrating something you love after a long break. Christmas this year feels exactly like this. I found time to just enjoy my festival.

Until I joined St. Joseph's school, Christmas was all about new clothes, putting up a star and going to my grandma’s house in Jayanagar. Her house was just a single room, but all my uncles, aunts and cousins would be packed in that room. As we got older we burst out of the house and onto the threshold and outside the house. Those in my mind are still the best Christmases simply because the whole extended family was together.

In fifth standard, the school introduced me to Christmas trees and Nativity ‘crib’ scenes. My dad and I went to Lalbagh and bought a Christmas tree and my relatives in Neelasandra helped us buy the set of statues for the crib. Christmas at home had graduated from stars to trees and cribs. Over the years building the crib became something I was crazy about. The designs would get more and more elaborate, but the statues remained the same.

Later, when I studied microbiology in my undergrad, another element was added to the Christmas celebrations at home: wine. We were taught to make wine in the labs and so I took this training home. The first year the grape juice and water didn’t ferment, but since then Jesus has been performing his miracle in my house.

As one gets older you slowly start getting busy, everyone wants your time. I slowly started making less elaborate cribs, the tree became an artificial one and some years I just wouldn’t make wine. Spending time with family and friends became somehow less important.

 

This year I was able to convince myself that I should spend the Christmas season doing the things that make me happy.

The wine project was two months long. And everyone at home just jumped in without asking and pitched in by getting the earthen pot ready, washing and cleaning the grapes, making the pulp and mixing.

The next big project was the crib. I spent many evenings planning and building the crib. Suddenly again it became a family effort to help me build it. My brother ran to the store to buy glue and other stationery, my dad ran the opposite way to buy brown wrapping paper, and my mom helped keep me cheerful while I put together yet another elaborate crib with the same some old 2002 statues.

 

The other big things, people around me took care of. They decorated the tree and put up the stars outside.

 

I was able to go out shopping with my family, we bought clothes for everyone including a very specific red shirt that my dad wanted. We were able to carefully pick out gifts too.

The last great project was Christmas cleaning. It took so much time and just finished this morning. Some things had to be just nicely covered up for the post New year cleaning.

 

I was lucky to be able to reconnect with some old friends and laugh about the old times. The jobless exam period without evaluation even gave me time to go on a quick pilgrimage to Velankanni.

 

 

This year I also added a few more elements to my personal Christmas celebration. The first was one I was terrified about: singing. I joined the Christmas choir and sang carols. I have been terrified of singing since a school music teacher called my singing poetry recitation. The people in the choir were really supportive and I had a ball of a time singing. The second was a Christmas quiz I conducted in college. It was nice seeing how competitive the teachers became. It was also a great chance to talk about Christmas in Bangalore.

 

As I sit here on this lovely cold Christmas and look back at my festive period, a smile slowly spreads across my face. The joy of a job done well. The joy of celebrating the festival I love with friends and family. The countless hours spent doing this, I believe were definitely well spent.