Star Studded
Where I grew up, Christmas begins in September. We’ve had the distinction of having the longest Christmas celebration in the world, spanning all four months plus a little more, only ending on the feast of the Three Kings on the first week of January the following year1.
If there’s one thing I miss about our former home (and, to be quite honest, there’s not a lot), it’s definitely the Christmas vibe:
- the million twinkling lights adorning homes and offices;
- large star-shaped lanterns perched on windows big and small;
- the smell of traditional holiday rice cakes wafting in the air;
- the sound of young carolers and their makeshift percussion instruments; and
- catching up with friends, exchanging gifts in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
U and I make it a point to deck out our apartment here with Christmas decorations every year, and it makes me a bit sad that in our building, we’re the only ones with enough holiday spirit to even decorate our windows.
Of course, people have various reasons for not wanting to celebrate the holidays, and I am not in a place to judge them for choosing2 to keep it on the down low.
Still, I miss the vibrancy and extravagance of Christmas celebrations from our homeland—and so this year I bought battery-operated twinkling fairy lights from Amazon and wrapped it all around the fabric star lantern gifted to us by a dear friend a few years back.
It ain’t much, but it’s enough to bring a much-needed festive mood in our new home—or in our entire building, for that matter. 😅