Without traditions, the holidays, to me, aren’t really holidays at all.
Our make-shift table |
I spent Thanksgiving in our own apartment in Campinas. It is not a holiday here of course, so
Fernando had to work. I went ahead with
making a mini-feast for just us and a friend.
I made a stuffed chicken instead of turkey, green beans, mashed potatoes
and gravy, and devilled eggs; all of my favorites from our usual feast. For dessert I made a flan, because it was
just easier and I knew if I had a pie sitting around in my house, we would
probably eat a few pieces and the rest would go to waste. Since we don’t have a table and chairs yet, I
ended up building a make-shift table out of empty kegs, unhung shelves, and a
table cloth with a cooler, a file box and our coffee table as chairs. Though my Thanksgiving was still lacking
family, pie, and board games, the fact that I still fulfilled some of my traditions
left me with a sense of (comedic) pride.
I was sure to get pictures of our college frat-boy furnishings and the
beautiful meal that made it look like a home anyways. It will be a story I can tell to my children
when they are poor and whining and it will probably go into the books as one of
the most memorable Thanksgivings of my life.
Because the truth is, when tradition is involved, it doesn’t have to be
perfect; it just has to conjure up an image.
Looks much better with a feast on it! |
Christmas for me is not the day of Christmas and receiving
presents, nor is it just a holy celebration of Jesus’ birth. It is a season that we fill with traditions for
the entire month of December, a holiday that brings us closer to the ones we
love and to the memories that we have of Christmases past. We listen to Christmas music on the radio, we
watch Christmas movies on T.V., we hang up our lights, decorate our houses,
fight over the Christmas tree, eat an advent chocolate every day, drink eggnog,
hang our stockings by the chimney with care…
It is impossible not to know that it is Christmas time in the U.S. Whether you like it or not, you WILL hear
bells ringing, see decorations everywhere, fight over a parking spot at Target,
and have to avoid the mall like the plague.
My homemade advent calendar |
This year in Brazil, Christmas lights didn’t happen, nor a
Christmas tree, there is no eggnog, hot chocolate seems a little crazy in 90
degree weather, and we don’t have a chimney.
We planned to spend Christmas with Fernando’s parents, so I didn’t worry
about it too much. I listened to my
Christmas music, watched my Christmas movies and made a cheesy little advent
calendar of things for Fernando and I to do as a couple every day. I crocheted snowflakes and made Christmas
trees out of paper. But Christmas in
Brazil wasn’t advertised as readily as it is in the U.S., I didn’t see garland
and Christmas lights everywhere, I didn’t hear Christmas songs in every store,
I didn’t hear salvation army bell ringers.
I guess these things are a result of the extreme consumerism that is
Christmas in America, but I missed it. I
missed it a lot. And I missed my
family.
My mom's giant Christmas tree |
When I arrived in Itapema after a 10 hour bus ride, I
thought, okay now we can really get into the Christmas spirit. My mother-in-law had a tiny little tree,
Christmas lights, and a wreath. It wasn’t
the giant Christmas tree that is always in my mom’s house with so many lights
and ornaments on it that you can hardly tell it’s green. That giant Christmas tree, I’ve come to
realize, is the most memorable thing about Christmas with my family. Going to the lot to find the perfect tree,
decorating it as a family, Heather patiently fixing the burnt out lights,
inevitably fighting over which ornaments are OUR ornaments to hang, and who has
to hang all the ornaments in the kid box, and finally, hanging the name balls
that Nonny made for all of us. That Christmas
tree is so ingrained in our memory that my siblings and I can play “I see
something on the Christmas tree” together from 6 different locations around the
world. On Christmas Eve, we went to
mass. There were no candles (my favorite
part) and we sang “O, Christmas Tree” and “Jingle Bells” with adapted religious
lyrics to accordion. We had rice and
stuffed turkey breast for dinner. I
planned to bring one of our family traditions to Brazil. I was going to make my mom’s cinnamon rolls
that we have had every Christmas morning for my entire life… I killed the yeast. Fernando and his parents didn’t understand
why I was so upset about the yeast, but it wasn’t really the yeast, it was the
entire thing. A year without Christmas, a
year without my family, and a year without traditions. How can I explain to them the magic that is Christmas
at home?
Christmas dinner and our little Christmas tree |
I finally made the cinnamon rolls this morning… They turned out well. Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve. There is an almost constant hiss and bang of
deafening fireworks that make it sound like I am living in a war zone. People are taking their towels and coolers to
the beach to get a tan for the New Year.
Next year, all I want for Christmas is a plane ticket home...
I love you, sister! The thing I'm learning is that even though I'm a mere 30 min drive from home, our traditions are changing too - Not so drastically as yours, I'll admit. Each new year brings a new twist to what tradition means. Here's to you paving the way for new Brazilian-American holiday traditions!
ReplyDeleteWe missed you too sister! Like Shanny said, as we're all celebrating in our new homes with little families of our own, traditions are changing too. But, it is still sometimes hard. I miss snuggling with all you guys on the couch and playing "I see something on the Christmas tree" while sipping eggnog. I even miss the annual argument over whether I have watched "A Christmas Story" too many times. Soon enough, you and Fernando will have traditions and your Christmases will feel more like "home."
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