She who is most beloved and I haven't been 'home' (England) for Christmas for a few years, our family are now too dispersed around the world to ever get together in one place, so we tend to do Indonesian Christmas, which is:
We cook a traditional English meal of roast chickens (no turkeys here) (nut roast for the veggies) (us) roast potatoes and so on....We cook this with and for our housekeeper and family, who basically constitute our 'staff' these days, although there has to be some rice, (Indonesians can't do a whole meal without rice) , so it's a kind of East - West fusion, with wine, which never otherwise drunk here. We decorate a plastic Christmas tree. This year our Godson over here who is 18 years old is also bringing 9 of his fellow students to the lodge for dinner, so we are doing it twice....I am spared buying the presents, (she does that), and every year I think 'Oh God it's Christmas again', and every year I thoroughly enjoy it.
There is some pathos, of course, it's the time of year that we miss our friends and family the most (separated by Covid for nearly two years now) but we make the best of it in this wonderful country which is Indonesia.
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@torunn saidI love Christmas and throw myself into it wholeheartedly. Big family get togethers can be a bit of a stress.
Why, you wonder, does she want to discuss something so loved by so many? Well, do we all agree that it is a good time for most? There is hardly any other tradition that creates so much anxiety and stress. Let me have your views, please.
@contenchess saidI wholeheartedly agree.
Get rid of the material greed and it is a good holiday tradition.
Some wrote here about being poor. I have experienced that. Christmas has been a highlight anyway.
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@very-rusty saidGood man. I hope others share their stories of giving, since of all the holidays year 'round, this is the one where we should be concerned with the giving, and not so much the getting. I consider it a good Christmas if I give far, far more than I get.
We've held a fund raising around Christmas time, called "Christmas Daddies" since back in the early 60's which on T.V. and journalists and entertainers donate their time for free. Have raised millions of dollars over the years. I believe we were close to 1 million this year. Now there are also other charities that give to the kids. There is a Big car dealership that does a ...[text shortened]... eed hundreds of families each year. I think we have the spirit of giving here in Nova Scotia.
-VR
Yes, I'm still single, and I don't have any kids, and I was an only child, so no nieces and nephews to give to. I do have close friends with kids, and so I do have a gaggle of kids to get stuff for, but most of these kids are spoiled rotten by their parents and so I don't spend much, some I bake for, and others I'll get some toys or games for.
Again, I'll spend Christmas Day, after the obligatory morning visits, at the downtown homeless shelters and bring them toys for the young ones and clothing items for the adults, stuff I've been stocking up on all year. I thank God that all the homeless in my sector are in shelters this year, but I still patrol the streets looking for newcomers to get off the streets. My group seems to be making a difference, as the numbers on the street have gone down while those in shelters and after-housing have grown. We have more shelters this year than last, to be able to handle the influx (thank you, Mayor Kate Gallego). I have a lot to be thankful for this Christmas.
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@suzianne saidWe often forget get that they, the homeless/destitute, could be us. We really do have to “look after” each other...and not just at this time of the year.👍
Good man. I hope others share their stories of giving, since of all the holidays year 'round, this is the one where we should be concerned with the giving, and not so much the getting. I consider it a good Christmas if I give far, far more than I get.
Yes, I'm still single, and I don't have any kids, and I was an only child, so no nieces and nephews to give to. I do ha ...[text shortened]... handle the influx (thank you, Mayor Kate Gallego). I have a lot to be thankful for this Christmas.
@suzianne saidLast year i gave a homeless man a kidney. It was beef, but it's the thought that counts.
Good man. I hope others share their stories of giving, since of all the holidays year 'round, this is the one where we should be concerned with the giving, and not so much the getting. I consider it a good Christmas if I give far, far more than I get.
Yes, I'm still single, and I don't have any kids, and I was an only child, so no nieces and nephews to give to. I do ha ...[text shortened]... handle the influx (thank you, Mayor Kate Gallego). I have a lot to be thankful for this Christmas.
Sorry
Thank you for giving of your self and your resources. Our apartment is located next to a shelter. Last winter almost every vacant apartment near us had been broken into for sheltering, a couple became trap houses. When the police raided a trap house and locked it up last year about Thanksgiving, they locked out a little kitten. We took him in. A year later, he's still ornery, over playful, destructive, picks on our other cats. Hmmm
Would you like a cat? He's lovable after he's done scratching and biting.
@suzianne saidWell done suzianne, I think the giving part make me happier just seeing the smiling faces knowing I didn't something for others to make their Christmas a little better.
Good man. I hope others share their stories of giving, since of all the holidays year 'round, this is the one where we should be concerned with the giving, and not so much the getting. I consider it a good Christmas if I give far, far more than I get.
Yes, I'm still single, and I don't have any kids, and I was an only child, so no nieces and nephews to give to. I do ha ...[text shortened]... handle the influx (thank you, Mayor Kate Gallego). I have a lot to be thankful for this Christmas.
-VR