It amazes me to see how the holidays are celebrated in the US. Its not even Thanksgiving and we already have all the Christmas stuff coming out in stores. Increible!!!! There was a time when I was back in my country of origin where Christmas was all about being together with your family. Making big dinners, dancing with your family, friends and neighbors and eating apples (yeah, apples). We used to pay $12.00 (pesos) for 1 apple that most of the time was already looking like it was used to play catch. I mean, this apples had holes on them from people touching them so hard trying to find the ones that could be eaten. At the same time, they were destroying what little the apple had left. Still, for us, those apples were everything. I mean, just having them on the table was worth the 12 bucks. It was part of our yearly traditions.
Those were the times. How I miss those days! My family was still a family back them. Now we are just relatives. I talk to my mom about 2-4 times a week and to one of my 12 siblings I talk to almost everyday. The others, I sometimes go months without talking to them. Its not that I don't want to, its just that there is never any time. When there is time, they are not available to talk. So, it goes on and on.
Back in my old house, we used to have a roasted pig every year on Christmas' Eve. In addition, we had rice, beans, platanos (plantains), yuca (casaba),tostones, bananas, avocados and a lot more. Food was all over the table, and the entire family was together to welcome Christmas day. We used to sleep in the floor with all my other nephews, nieces and cousins. All the grown ups took all the beds, but we didn't care. It was actually fun. The next day was the other part of the tradition, abichuelas con dulce (sort of an extract of beans mixed with condensed milk, evaporated milk, cinnamon and other things).
Probably the most surprising thing about this whole Christmas day celebrations back in my town was actually the fact that no body was giving out gifts to each other. No that we didn't want to, we just couldn't. However; I don't remember ever needing them. We had so much fun with one another that we just didn't think about them. We also didn't expect them. The best gift, my mother always said, was each other's presence in the house. It was kind of like a rule. Every member of the family had to be there for Christmas or else my mother will chew them up when she saw them again. Those were the holidays back in my town.
Then, I arrived to the US. Here things are totally different. I actually kind of hate the holidays now. The only thing that people actually look forward to is the gifts. My wife starts shopping around and spending money right when the Christmas stuff comes out to stores. I can't go to my mother in law's house without having a gift on my hands for each and every member of the family. Or else, I'll be the black sheep for the rest of the holidays. The more I think about it, the more I dislike the holidays. I'm I weird? Sometimes I question my self about that. Anyway, I just don't see a real understanding about what Christmas is all about in this country. I don't see any traditions, except the gifts swapping of course. I guess some people still do get together and still see Christmas as just what its suppose to be. A week of harmony where you share time with your family and make some hot coco and laugh at the jokes and all this things that make the holidays so special. The days that Jesus Christ came to earth. I mean, I'm not too much into religion, but I don't go against the things that make our lives better. Things that unite us with our family. Things and days like Christmas!!
I think this year, I'm going to have a Christmas without gifts. A Christmas where there is no interest and no reason for me to see family. Just one reason and one reason only. That is to have some abichuela con dulce like we used to. Eat some roasted pig like we used to and enjoy the time lost all these years of not seeing each other as frequent as we used to.
I suggest you do the same, you'll see how good it feels. You will also see who really want to see you and who just want to come to your house because of the gift they are expecting. You'll be surprised!! Go and visit your family just to visit them, no to expect things from them.
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