This could be our last big Christmas celebration
This is the third Christmas I have ever had in my entire life. I am not saying that I don't know what Christmas is or have never taken part in one, but all of them have been forced upon me really. It's only when I moved here to the States that I am experiencing what Christmas is like and actively taking part in it. Christmas in the States is quite different to what I am used to observing in the Philippines. Living in the Southern part of America, the MOST striking difference is there are very few Catholics around. So that alone already takes out a lot of the Catholic traditions that is very commonly seen in the Philippines. Christmas here actually starts in December, not September. There is always that option that you can celebrate where you are, you don't really have to make a trip to see far-away families and since they have a kickass postal system here so when you send packages and cards, they really make it to the recipient. You have a regular working day on the 24th and get back to work on the 26th. Some folks work on Christmas. You don't have a year-end week-long super duper special non-working holiday according to presidential decree. Christmas is a BIG DEAL and has its own level of crazy for some people as it has its own in the Philippines.
Our Christmas is actually quite simple compared to many. We have a tree that we decorate, it's about four feet tall. We had Christmas stocking stuffers. We had a wonderful Christmas dinner (baked beans, sweet potato bombs, turkey ham, cranberry jam, and stuffing). For dessert, we had choices of different pies (apple mincemeat pie, pecan pie, chocolate pecan pie and pumpkin squares). I also baked a box of chocolate crackle cookies and mango graham cake (no-bake). So many chocolates too. We received amazing gifts from each other and gave amazing gifts to each other as well. The gift-giving was not just us in this house but also to relatives and friends here in the US. I've sent cards to friends and family in the Philippines. We did get a little too excited with buying gifts but I guess the season does that to a person psychologically because of the festive mood all around. It was quite overwhelming. However, I regret nothing especially seeing Shamsa light up and wouldn't stop playing with all her toys. It was agreed upon that we were only going to do stocking stuffers this year but that didn't play out as planned. So again we promise that next year will strictly be stocking stuffers only. I do not have any qualms about this since I am pretty much just enjoying and experiencing what's going on around me. I have lived almost my entire life not celebrating Christmas without any problems so any major or minor changes for Christmas celebrations here in the US is fine by me. In fact I am curious how things will play out next year inshaa Allah. We'll see.
Yes, we observe Christmas as a form of da'wah for ourselves and to others. I am appreciating the kind of celebration we observe as a family and that alone is enough for me to handle and understand. We read the Christmas story as compiled and compressed by mother-in-law which are taken from different holy scriptures. In a way I feel a little more open-minded compared to how I have been in the past whenever December kicked in. But as I have mentioned earlier, it looks like this will be the last Christmas that we are celebrating with too much stuff. The goal is to keep it real and simple next year inshaaAllah. Expecting significant changes to happen which I think is good and healthy. Changes are always good as long as they make you more self-aware to do better next time. Each change brings forth its own wisdom. The most important thing is that we are all together and I am extremely grateful for close family time. Making new memories and interesting stories to share with our loved ones. In the end, that's what truly matters.