Best Christmas ever!

Christmas is so many things.

For those truly religious, the time to rejoice and celebrate their savior’s birth.

For the kids, the time to impatiently await the end of Christmas Eve dinner* to see what Santa has brought them.

For non-Christians, the little time off they get on account of ‘believers’.

For others, me included, mostly the time to see and enjoy their families.

Even on Friday I couldn’t believe it was already Christmas time. Nothing seemed right – the weather outside so autumn like, the presents not ready, for the 1^st time in 24 years I didn’t have a longer holiday to enjoy the atmosphere but only Monday off and then back to work. I was talking to some other 20 something year-olds and we agreed the magic of Christmas was gone. All the emotions and feelings it used to evoke in us are somehow not there anymore. And then came Christmas Eve dinner, the First Day of Christmas lunch & dinner followed and the magic was back, full on. Yes, it was different magic than what it used to be when I was 6 or 7, of which I was reminded while watching a little cousin of mine so impatient for the dinner to finish so she could see just how well-behaved she was that year. Seeing her immense joy when it turned out the biggest boxes were for her, the light in her eyes as she was struggling to carry them from under the Christmas tree to a room where she’d actually have space to open them up.

But it was magic like never before, because I’ve finally grown up enough to understand and appreciate it. We were 12 in a little room on Saturday evening. And somewhere out there, within 10 minutes from where we were celebrating, about 15 other family members were beginning their Christmas dinners, giving each other their best and most sincere wishes, singing carols, getting stuffed with barszcz, pierogi, karp… We’ve never had a Christmas like this – basically the whole close family on my mother’s side still living in Poland gathered in her hometown, Oława (a little town outside of Wrocław). My parents, grandparents, grandma’s sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins with wives and kids, we all spread out over 4 flats and just kept on circulating and changing hosts. It all came to an end last night when all 21 of us sat down by one table (well, ok – 3 tables put together and chairs brought down from different flats) in a room we could barely move around in anymore, stuffed ourselves with some more homemade deliciousness, sang carols with my little 3,5 year old Godson as the leading voice, drank vodka, wondered if we were cousins or uncles and nieces or however else we ‘should’ call ourselves. 4 generations enjoying the time we were blessed to be given to spend together. I’ve no doubt that the amount of love and affection in that room would have cured any Grinch.

Oh, and seeing that my photo blog has reached more than
10 000 entries was a nice little present as well :)

*In Poland we unpack presents of the evening of 24^th.