Grandma's homemade fudge, divinity, peanut brittle, Christmas cookies, these are the holiday smells I've grown up with.
Holidays are steeped in tradition and as a foreigner in a foreign land I am finding the transition difficult. My husband bless him has been a rock and even my very own Christmas elf trying his hardest to bring back my holiday spirit. We've gone to Winter Wonderland, Oxford Circus and Regent Street for Christmas lights, went to see White Christmas on the big screen. It has all been amazing. And I have to admit that at times my holiday spirit is quite high, but then it seems to suddenly drop to almost nothing and I find myself thinking about Christmas traditions back home and I feel the tears start to well up in my eyes.
Its not that my new family doesn't want me to keep my traditions, I have tried to bring some of my traditions here, I made Christmas cookies for my mother in law's Christmas hampers to give out to family, but I didn't find the joy I usually feel as I was left to make them by myself. Christmas cookies were always a family affair with everyone decorating them in their own fashion. My brother the artist made elaborate decorations that were almost too pretty to eat, while I was more of a see how many sprinkles I can fit on one cookie sort of decorator.
I know that one day I'll wake up and I won't feel quite so out of place, but the holidays are hard. This year I will hopefully make new traditions to blend with old, and next year I won't feel the sting of homesickness quite so much.
No comments:
Post a Comment