I meant to post this in December, but I got busier than expected and didn't have a chance to finish it. I still would like you to know what the holidays are like here, so I'm going to post it anyway.
The Butterball turkeys started appearing only a couple weeks ago, just like in the states. The same thing for big flats of Libby's canned pumpkin, huge stacks of cranberry sauce, boxes of holiday M&M's, and piles of bagged stuffing mix. I did buy myself a turkey to be cooked at a later date as well as grabbing some of the pumpkin (when I wanted to make pumpkin bars for a Halloween party I had to use sweet potatoes). I'm fairly certain that once the holiday season is over you will not be able to find this stuff anywhere.
Thanksgiving of course falls on the last Thursday of November, which works out fabulously for us - Thursday is the weekend, remember? That means Steve won't have to take the day off to celebrate. We also got lucky with where Christmas falls this year, also a Thursday. Aramco apparently used to give Christmas off to non-Muslims. Now you just get two floating holidays to use at your pleasure. We typically will not get New Year's Day off either but it's a Thursday this year too.
It's a little surreal to read on the Internet about retailers in the states playing Christmas music and putting up the holiday decorations early. Or the stampede at Walmart on the morning after Thanksgiving. Other than the flats of seasonal ingredients mentioned above, it's almost forgettable here that Christmas is coming. There are few houses decorated around the neighborhood. The malls are no more crowded than usual. There are no Christmas specials on TV. The kids had some Thanksgiving activities/programs at school, but the trimester ended on Dec. 3 so there were no holiday parties. Really, no signs of Christmas at all.
The Butterball turkeys started appearing only a couple weeks ago, just like in the states. The same thing for big flats of Libby's canned pumpkin, huge stacks of cranberry sauce, boxes of holiday M&M's, and piles of bagged stuffing mix. I did buy myself a turkey to be cooked at a later date as well as grabbing some of the pumpkin (when I wanted to make pumpkin bars for a Halloween party I had to use sweet potatoes). I'm fairly certain that once the holiday season is over you will not be able to find this stuff anywhere.
Thanksgiving of course falls on the last Thursday of November, which works out fabulously for us - Thursday is the weekend, remember? That means Steve won't have to take the day off to celebrate. We also got lucky with where Christmas falls this year, also a Thursday. Aramco apparently used to give Christmas off to non-Muslims. Now you just get two floating holidays to use at your pleasure. We typically will not get New Year's Day off either but it's a Thursday this year too.
It's a little surreal to read on the Internet about retailers in the states playing Christmas music and putting up the holiday decorations early. Or the stampede at Walmart on the morning after Thanksgiving. Other than the flats of seasonal ingredients mentioned above, it's almost forgettable here that Christmas is coming. There are few houses decorated around the neighborhood. The malls are no more crowded than usual. There are no Christmas specials on TV. The kids had some Thanksgiving activities/programs at school, but the trimester ended on Dec. 3 so there were no holiday parties. Really, no signs of Christmas at all.
It kind of unnerves me to a certain degree. I feel like I don't have a good sense of how much time I have to prepare for the holidays. It certainly doesn't help that we will be on a trip from Dec. 3rd until the 16th. It's possible that when we return, we MAY see some evidence of a holiday coming. It is a very strict Muslim country though, and they do not celebrate Christmas so I doubt it will even come close to what you all are experiencing.
We brought all our Christmas decorations and I have what I need to start the Christmas baking. We will do everything we can to make our home "feel" like Christmas. Maybe I'll even up the air conditioning to 65 so it feels cold in here (current outside temperature as I'm typing this is 80F). But I'm betting that this experience will force us to think about the meaning of Christmas and true Christmas spirit . We always talk about avoiding the commercialism, but have you ever thought about how much do we unknowingly rely on the external prompts to create Christmas? When you strip away the winter weather, the music in the stores, the hustle and bustle of holiday shoppers, the sale ads, the stress (let's be honest), the decorations...what's left is what is inside us. It's eye opening, and a bit humbling too.
If I remember correctly, we went through this when we were living in China too, but not to the degree we are experiencing here. I wasn't as worried about "warping" the kids and their memories of Christmas - Michael was only a year old when we returned to the states. But it's something I think about here. How will we make it Christmas? It will certainly take more effort and planning. But do we really want to recreate what we were trying to get away from? What is it exactly that we want Christmas to be?
As I ponder that thought, I'm reminded of what Dr. Suess said in How the Grinch Stole Christmas:
...Every Who down in Who-ville, the tall and the small,
Was Singing! Without any presents at all!
He HADN'T stopped Christmas from coming!
IT CAME!
Somehow or other, it came just the same!
And the Grinch, with his grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow,
Stood puzzling and puzzling: "How could it be so?
"It came without ribbons! It came without tags!
"It came without packages, boxes or bags!"
And he puzzled three hours, till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before!
"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store.
"Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!"
He HADN'T stopped Christmas from coming!
IT CAME!
Somehow or other, it came just the same!
And the Grinch, with his grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow,
Stood puzzling and puzzling: "How could it be so?
"It came without ribbons! It came without tags!
"It came without packages, boxes or bags!"
And he puzzled three hours, till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before!
"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store.
"Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!"
1 comment:
I really enjoyed this post(of course I like them all); it really made me think. I have talked to Margaret before about slowing down the holiday season and getting rid of the commercialism, etc. It is kind of awkward to realize that I prefer having the choice of whether to be surrounded by all the Christmas hype and even more startling to realize that maybe I need all the ads, piped in music, and yes, even the stress to get myself into the Christmas spirit. I think Christmas might feel very flat and unreal without it. What does that say for the Christmas that is inside me?
Thanks for this post.
Dawn
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