Christmas Eve

As you know, this Christmas will be very different for my family, with two gaping holes never to be filled again - my Dad and our closest family friend who was like a brother to my sister and me, and like a son to my parents.

And yet, I am looking forward to it. My heart and mind are full of Christmas spirit - not the consumerism we all keep bemoaning, but what for me is the true core of Christmas. I won't go into this in detail on my blog, as I have long ago decided not to cover religion (as well as sex and politics) here. 

Last year, we were all still around, and my Dad even made his famous spuds salad. You can read about my Christmas 2021 here. 

In 2020, I had my first own Christmas tree, and wrote about it here. Last year, I did not feel like setting it up, but then regretted not having it. Therefore, this year, I made the effort again, and am glad I did!

On Tuesday after work, I went down into the basement and brought up the tree which is stored in two parts in large bin bags, as well as a box with the lights and another one with ornaments. It did not take me long to set it all up, and although it is a rather ugly tree (especially if you look closely), I believe it is the ugly Christmas trees that deserver to be loved the most.

Note the beautiful old stand - it is actually the most beautiful part of the slightly tattered tree and could be as old as the 1930s, certainly not younger than the 1950s. My Mum found it at a charity shop and made it a surprise gift for me.

The tree in all its "glory":

I have put all my parcels underneath; most of them are the gifts for my Mum and my sister, but there are a few early ones I have received from my neighbour and the lady I regularly go to for my back and shoulders. She also crocheted the beautiful snow flake ornaments on the tree, her gift last year.

In my post about Christmas 2021 I wrote: "Next year, I want to have more time before Christmas, not working right up to it, leaving me to press all household work etc. into Christmas Eve itself." Well, that did not quite work out, since once again I worked right up to it. Yesterday was a regular working day for me, but of course with many clients already being on holiday, it was quiet, and I managed to finish early so that I could do most of my cleaning in the afternoon and not leave it all for today.

I have a few things I want to do here before I leave for my Mum's before noon to help her with her Christmas preparations, mainly hoovering and whatever job she has in mind for me. 

At 1:00 pm, my sister will join us for lunch, which traditionally is a made-from-scratch chicken or vegetable broth with soup noodles in it. After that, we plan to walk to the cemetery and visit our Dad and friend R.

Then I will be home for a few hours in the afternoon, before Christmas Eve starts true and proper with our traditional meal of spuds salad and Wiener sausages. We will light the tree and exchange our gifts, and I do not doubt that there will be tears. But we are determined to celebrate still having each other, and treasure the fond memories of past Christmases.

On Christmas Day, my Mum is hosting a festive lunch for R's brother, his partner and us. Late afternoon will see me traveling to O.K.'s, where on Boxing Day I will go to the village church with him for their traditional family mass with the village band providing the music. After that, another festive meal awaits us at O.K.'s sister's. And just like last year, I will take the usual Monday morning train (only that it will be Tuesday) on the 27th back home. This time, though, not because O.K. has to work - he is on holiday until New Year, but I have not a single day off left and will be working that week, for the first time in many years.

Until then, here's wishing you all Merry Christmas! Treasure that precious time with your loved ones; you never know how long they will still be around.