With the Christmas spirit in the air, one can’t help but
feel the festivities and the chills. It’s my favorite time of the year, and so
probably the reason I’m spending so much time thinking, planning and browsing
over Christmas plans. And to be amidst the fogged up screens and whistling
winds, Christmas couldn’t get better.
The dreamy season of December brings along with it a
whirlwind of wishes, hopes, sharing, ideas, greetings and transports of
delight. So, I did something different for my blog this time. I went around
asking everyone what it meant to them. Once I asked them “what does Christmas
mean to you”, it’s like I set something entirely new in motion. The responses I
got varied from electrification to peevish moods. Sitting here on my office
desk, I hope to have stirred up something in every mind somewhere.. even if
it’s through a simple WhatsApp message. Christmas tends to have that effect on
people maybe, or maybe it’s just the nip in the air, or is it the festive mood,
or maybe the spirits.
So, the first response I got, read, and I will quote, “Cold
winter outside, warm feeling inside, peaceful and warm time with loved ones..
nothing too loud. And oh yeah happiness. Festive feeling. Sharing it with
people close to me.” That was the first. Trigger something in you?
What more, it’s about gifts, decorations and the shade red.
Alongside, it’s about believing in a myth/a legend that there’s someone out
there who’s selflessly giving you every Christmas, a world of red without
asking for anything in return.
That’s just how Christmas is. Putting life into the palest
of things, sprinkling magic and sparkle all around.
I got rejoinders and elliptic from a simple ‘nothing at all’
to ‘exams’ to ‘party’ to ‘carols’ to a ‘holiday’. Even the simple idea of cake
and coffee is celebration. Oh! And how can I skip the mention of Newton’s
birthday to me. Sanchit says for him it’s partying on the eve, decorating a
tree at home, not to miss gobbling up the yumm cakes and later spend a bit of
time with the family, and then asks me why I ask. Answering him, it’s important
for me. To know what it is to you. To see what will get you enthralled about
it, what will set the fire on. To share that feeling. To scream it out to the
world.. that happiness, that joy, the excitement. To make you a part of it, and
let myself be a small little part of yours in turn.
Since it’s too much to type and words may not get his
expression of excitement right, I got a whole new outlook on Christmas. So, the
phone rings in the office to explain me what Christmas is. To start with, it’s
red, it's decorations, it’s going to the Cathedral at midnight taking all the
magic in. To set in to the mood, its jiving and waltzing through the dance
floor and giving way to igniting fires.
For everything its worth, what’s Christmas to you? 5 days
from here, what and where do you see yourself.. Carnivals, pianos, snowflakes,
gifts, stockings.. get your attention caught.
So, what it means to me. What my favourite holiday, my most
loved time of the year mean to me. I don’t know if words will justify the
feelings, but here I am making one shot to let you peek in.
~December is that month of mixed bag of feelings and
emotions. The holidays send your emotions in several directions. That tango of
mind and emotions starts its beat just as soon as the December nip takes over.
All those tugs and heart-strings normalize up, down and ricochet sideways.
Memories are all on emotional tips and trigger familiar scents of magic.
Christmas is a time of nose-talgia.
Think of peppermint and pine. Think of cookies and cream and cakes, of dough,
hot chocolate on the stove and wine in the closet. Of smells of wood smoke
through homes, offices, restaurants, bakeries, everywhere.
Think of the omniscient flavor of music. Diluting our thinking
minds, targets the heart directly. Traditions are an instigator of a wave of
emotions. And they’re more than comforting, be it the memories of pleasurable
traditions or the bittersweet. The snore memories are threads of traditions
formed over a lifetime so precious, it’s a sense of history and connection.
*stirs a cornucopia of feelings*
Be a part of it. The Christmas tree. The jingling stars and
goofed up decorations. The angel. The bells. Oh! The mistletoe. The wreath.
Indulge in. Dance a bit- Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner
and Blitzen- sing along the red nosed Rudolf.
The entire approach of Christmas fills me up with
expectations. It’s like riding up on a roller-coaster with a giant hill of
anticipation. And when the celebrations begin, you fly through. It’s almost the
end of the year, so remind yourself of life being perfect as it is. (it loves you back)
So what’s in my jar of Christmas this year, is the scent of
eggnog whisked well with the dough in the oven and the bayberry candles lit up.
And since I’m a person of traditions, my Santy has for me a stocking full of
Christmas classics. To top my cake with a cherry, my cup of hot chocolate
awaits the grasp of my frozen hands. The
Christmas lights and the walk down to the Cathedral just isn’t long enough.
So telme, what are you up for this season, this Christmas?
Get yourself in the Christmas spirit. Turn on some “Christmassy” music, make a
batch of Christmas cookies, hang up those Christmas ornaments, learn a song; get out
of the house.
Get a gift, it doesn’t matter to who.
Be young again. Get in
touch with that wondrous feeling called Christmas.
“Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! What
if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if
Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!”
-Dr. Seuss
