Christmas is my favorite holiday. It is a wonderful time spent with family and friends, surrounded by music, candlelight, christmasy spices (cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, ginger...), chocolate, gingerbread, and of course, glögi. A strong part of it is also snow and the peace and quiet of Lapland. So, what can a Christmas-lover do when spending the Christmas away from things she thinks are nearly inseparable from the holiday? During December I've been to a couple of Christmas markets (enjoying the atmosphere and some glüwein), as well as crafted some Christmas decorations for our house. But getting to real Christmas spirit is not so easy, and suddenly I realized that Christmas is only a couple of days away. Though I must say I had almost driven my roommates crazy by listening to Christmas music all the time ("Do you ever listen to any other kind of music?" a direct quote) On 23rd I headed to the Dead Sea for another bike ride with friends. You know, getting little sporty before the great feasts we would be facing in next days. In the evening we drove to a nearby Christian village, that was lit up with thousands of Christmas lights. Different lights and colors were hung up by the doors, windows, light poles, roundabouts, trees, whatever you can imagine. But it was not only the lights that bring the feeling, it was more the music we played (I tried to prove that not ALL Finnish Christmas music is melancholic. Not sure if I succeeded though, maybe we are just too peaceful people for cheery songs), the company, and twinkling city lights on dark hills far away. 24th of December, the Christmas Eve, is the main Christmas day for us in Finland. I spent it with a fellow Finn, who had organized a wonderful party with her friends. Of course, we had to watch "The Snowman", a British animation film, which is shown every year at the same time (around 11 am) in Finnish tv, and which I have watched every year for as long as I can remember. The day was also filled with games and laughter, not to forget some special Finnish Christmas food. On 25th we organized a party with my roommates for our colleagues from i-Dare. Despite the almost catastrophic scheduling of cooking, we managed to produce so much food that we would be fed for a week.
So, what makes a real Christmas? In a way, I was very close to the real Christmas as Bethlehem is basically only across the Jordan river, but the traditions you learn and build during the years are an integral part of the holiday. What really matters, are the people you spend the holiday with. Even though I could not spend it with my family, I have wonderful people around me. Some of them I've known a bit longer, some of them I 've just met. Nonetheless, I am extremely grateful of every one of them. Thank you, my Jordanian multicultural family. Thank you for making my Christmas.
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