What would you say if you had to explain the idea of Christmas to someone who knew nothing about it? Your story might begin with the three wise men following a star in the sky, or it might start off with Santa at the North Pole or even the solemn appeal of a winter festival that comes just when the sun seems most meager. Redemption and rejoicing, feasting and singing, humility and awe — these would all be parts of your answer, as would the perennial cast of characters (like a certain jolly red man and his pack of reindeers) who turn up faithfully this time of year. The personal anecdotes would come easiest: the rituals of Christmas Eve, the smell of fresh Christmas-blend tea, the stillness of a world cloaked in snow. And you would probably have something to say about the importance of family and how you want to spend the day with the very people you love the most.
My Christmas story would probably start with the grandparents, and how every year without fail the grand-dad would heave the huge-ass tree onto his 70-year-old shoulders and position it in the living room, just so his precocious grand-daughter (me) could put up the lights and baubles. The tree was like a canvas to me, and I would channel my arts and crafts skills and deck the tree with all the colours in my decorations kit. The tree probably looked like something the cat dragged in, but the grandparents would always say that the tree looked even better than the last. I never asked for gifts when I was a child – but I would always pester my grand-dad to put up the tree. The sheer act of spending the time with the grandparents to decorate it meant more to me than getting yet another Barbie doll or Mickey Mouse stationery set.
And that’s what Christmas is all about – spending the best day of the year with the people I love. And that’s also the reason why I dragged you out to do some grocery shopping with me on Christmas Eve – the idea of humming carols and having you beside me pushing a filled trolley exuded a sense of festivity and romanticism. And I had also wanted to make sure that I could spend at least a couple of hours with you on Christmas. That small act of picking up shortbread and muffins was more than enough to make me happy. Christmas means the world to me, and I wanted you to be part of it.
Merry Christmas my love, though it probably slipped your mind to wish me (: Hope everything’s well over at your side.
Some days … the whole world seems upside down. And then somehow, and probably, and when you least expect it, the world rights itself again.
Filed under: Life, Love, Singapore, friends | Tagged: christmas
