by Alix
I love Christmas, it’s crazy to say that but it should be the time of the year when everybody is happy and when all those annoying issues should go away for the holidays!
I have amazing Christmas memories of France, when I was little and even a bit older. My mom, who also loved Christmas, would decorate the entire house for Santa Claus. Here in the US, it’s like a tradition, at Thanksgiving, you decorate the Christmas tree with family. In France, it’s later, during December. Christmas was always a big deal for my family! The Christmas tree was my mom’s mission… She was in charge of choosing it and we couldn’t help her in decorating it… She used to surprise us in the morning or when we were older, when we would come back from school; the tree was shining in a special spot in the living room! Every year she would buy new decorations. Of course, Christmas songs came along with the Christmas spirit, and we would listen to these songs, mostly in French. “Petit Papa Noël” from Tino Rossi and you are right away in a Christmas mood!
And then the big day would arrive, it was so exciting, we would organize a big dinner and gather all the family, my cousins and I would play sketch and our parents were thrilled. Then Midnight mass (which was not really at midnight btw!), and finally, Santa Claus would come and visit us and would bring us gorgeous presents… It was so exciting that we had to wait for our turn and we would be amazed by others’ presents. When it was my turn, I wanted so much to stop time, because after I would open my presents, Christmas was kind of over, even if we had the next day, we had to wait until the next Christmas to feel this excitement again!
Here, I love all the radio stations who play Christmas songs from the beginning of December. I love the cars which wear the antlers and red nose of “Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer”, main character of the American cartoon played for the first time in December 1994, and who is now a Christmas symbol. I also love Christmas Carols, Christmas store window displays and all Christmas decorations. I love thinking about how I can make my family happy. Well, I am in love with Christmas!!
My mum showed me the warmth and welcoming Christmas spirit and today I’m fond of the American Christmas spirit which is also very festive and convivial.
And even if here in Miami we miss a few details: snow and a fire in the chimney, I still enjoy turning out all the lights and admire the shining Christmas tree with my family and a lot of French and English Christmas songs…
Translation & Editing by Camille Boucard
