Since time unknown, my family has celebrated Christmas in its most gala fashion ever...
And, its not just a small tree here and buying a cake off from a local grocery store, not just bidding the Christmas day goodbye by just a namesake Christmas tree barely a foot tall, not just tuning the television into Star movies or some other channel to use its magic of Christmas to lend our home some magic for the same. NO!
We did the entire how do I state it "WALK-THROUGH"(pardon me..too many architectural friends) for Christmas and bringing in the magic of Christmas in its own sweet warm fashion. My entire family, including my grandmother (who had no clue about the details of Christmas but was sporting enough to fall through anything that everyone's charged up about! ) would go marching off to New Market (the largest market for Christmas shopping at least in Calcutta), and buy a Christmas tree- double the height of my then size,buy absolutely endless decorations (anything that has the slightest hint of red, green and golden colours we were at that shop and we'd have had bought it!). It then followed by finding a vacant cab and fetching it back to the hubbub of activities of that season, and then heading back home in an utterly tired condition, dozing off in the cab is what you would expect of kids. Reaching home followed by an upsurge of activity for us, rivalry amidst me and my brother as to who gets to do the decoration of the tree followed by the house.
On the day of Christmas eve, my father would bake the most amazing plain cake adorned with dry fruits; by taking out our old oven and not the microwave oven. And, while the batters being made-me, my brother, my mother would sneak tastes off the batter while our dad would scold us for finishing off the batter in its raw condition, getting tempted he would soon follow suite; as they say "Who'll guard the guardians"? LOL. Once the batter was put into the oven for baking, the smell of the cake being baked would fill up the house, 45 minutes seemed like an eternity. We would keep checking on the cake and sticking forks in it to check whether its done. I really didn't know what I'm looking for when I used to stick in that fork in the cake, but seemed like following suite of my mom would seem like the right thing to do.. :P.
Finally when she (the cake) used to step out of that oven, her hard brown crust, that rich smell of freshly baked homemade cake used to fill in the house. And yet, once again we were not allowed to eat as it was for the evening party. Did I not mention that there's a party? Well then how do you celebrate Christmas eve without a party?!! :) All that we were allowed to have was the left overs of the once batter and now crusty remains of the cake on the baking utensil. We were not happy about it, but it kind of gave us some hope and more patience to endure through the long never-ending wait..!
Mom, would have made some gala culinary treats which would not be, lets put it plainly, not-so-Christmas-y..
The carols which have been playing in the backdrop since morning almost seems like a part of the ambience by now."Rudolph the red nosed reindeer..", "Jingle Bells..", "We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year..", "..Christmas is all around you..", "I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus.."....just aboout everything.!
Dim yellow lights (which I always find very depressing somehow seems to suit this occasion ), the glimmering automatic lights, the Victorian wreaths, the endless golden bells, the mistletoes, the mother fairy, the stars ...just about everything completed my Christmas eve.
After everything was said and done, and all the guests had left for their respective homes. My dad and me would still be singing along with the carols and be so darned happy about it.
As my mother asks me every year when ever I make my Christmas demands. "So, Cherry, what religion are we again?"
And, I'd proudly say,"It's more like being part of a SECULAR COUNTRY Ma"!
Merry Christmas everybody, wherever you are..!
And, its not just a small tree here and buying a cake off from a local grocery store, not just bidding the Christmas day goodbye by just a namesake Christmas tree barely a foot tall, not just tuning the television into Star movies or some other channel to use its magic of Christmas to lend our home some magic for the same. NO!
We did the entire how do I state it "WALK-THROUGH"(pardon me..too many architectural friends) for Christmas and bringing in the magic of Christmas in its own sweet warm fashion. My entire family, including my grandmother (who had no clue about the details of Christmas but was sporting enough to fall through anything that everyone's charged up about! ) would go marching off to New Market (the largest market for Christmas shopping at least in Calcutta), and buy a Christmas tree- double the height of my then size,buy absolutely endless decorations (anything that has the slightest hint of red, green and golden colours we were at that shop and we'd have had bought it!). It then followed by finding a vacant cab and fetching it back to the hubbub of activities of that season, and then heading back home in an utterly tired condition, dozing off in the cab is what you would expect of kids. Reaching home followed by an upsurge of activity for us, rivalry amidst me and my brother as to who gets to do the decoration of the tree followed by the house.
On the day of Christmas eve, my father would bake the most amazing plain cake adorned with dry fruits; by taking out our old oven and not the microwave oven. And, while the batters being made-me, my brother, my mother would sneak tastes off the batter while our dad would scold us for finishing off the batter in its raw condition, getting tempted he would soon follow suite; as they say "Who'll guard the guardians"? LOL. Once the batter was put into the oven for baking, the smell of the cake being baked would fill up the house, 45 minutes seemed like an eternity. We would keep checking on the cake and sticking forks in it to check whether its done. I really didn't know what I'm looking for when I used to stick in that fork in the cake, but seemed like following suite of my mom would seem like the right thing to do.. :P.
Finally when she (the cake) used to step out of that oven, her hard brown crust, that rich smell of freshly baked homemade cake used to fill in the house. And yet, once again we were not allowed to eat as it was for the evening party. Did I not mention that there's a party? Well then how do you celebrate Christmas eve without a party?!! :) All that we were allowed to have was the left overs of the once batter and now crusty remains of the cake on the baking utensil. We were not happy about it, but it kind of gave us some hope and more patience to endure through the long never-ending wait..!
Mom, would have made some gala culinary treats which would not be, lets put it plainly, not-so-Christmas-y..
The carols which have been playing in the backdrop since morning almost seems like a part of the ambience by now."Rudolph the red nosed reindeer..", "Jingle Bells..", "We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year..", "..Christmas is all around you..", "I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus.."....just aboout everything.!
Dim yellow lights (which I always find very depressing somehow seems to suit this occasion ), the glimmering automatic lights, the Victorian wreaths, the endless golden bells, the mistletoes, the mother fairy, the stars ...just about everything completed my Christmas eve.
After everything was said and done, and all the guests had left for their respective homes. My dad and me would still be singing along with the carols and be so darned happy about it.
We (the kids) would somehow end up sleeping with socks under our pillows and the next morning we would radically find a Rs.100 note in it and thus believe in Santa Claus. As I started getting older, I came to know the real truth about Santa Claus,but that never dampened my spirits. I'd wrap things of the household and give it to my family as Christmas gifts. A few years later, I'd get money from my parents and buy individual gifts for everyone for Christmas. My mom and dad had realised the monster they had nurtured and instead of resisting they decided to give in to my whims as that seemed less futile, besides at some level who doesn't like gifts :D. I positively remember the few times that my parents had actually bought us Christmas gifts, the tradition that I'd manage to incorporate and enforce..!
Now, years have passed, there have been many Christmas eve-s where we've not had a party, but the joy of celebration has always been there. My first Christmas where my brother won't be home, but the memory is still there. The many Christmas's where my father's not there, but the idea of the cake and the way it fills up the house and my soul is still there. My grandmother is no longer with us but her eyes sparkling with all the ongoing excitement of something still vivid as a picture. The happiness that I felt and the chill that ran down my spine every time when I saw a Rs. 100 note in my sock which was nicely kept under my pillow, still worth it. Guess that's what matters, life's after all a scrapbook, you can just picturise a certain few things when you think of a certain occassion, and relive the moments again and again and again, and the joy of reliving the moment completes you in ways you could have never imagined.
Now, years have passed, there have been many Christmas eve-s where we've not had a party, but the joy of celebration has always been there. My first Christmas where my brother won't be home, but the memory is still there. The many Christmas's where my father's not there, but the idea of the cake and the way it fills up the house and my soul is still there. My grandmother is no longer with us but her eyes sparkling with all the ongoing excitement of something still vivid as a picture. The happiness that I felt and the chill that ran down my spine every time when I saw a Rs. 100 note in my sock which was nicely kept under my pillow, still worth it. Guess that's what matters, life's after all a scrapbook, you can just picturise a certain few things when you think of a certain occassion, and relive the moments again and again and again, and the joy of reliving the moment completes you in ways you could have never imagined.
As my mother asks me every year when ever I make my Christmas demands. "So, Cherry, what religion are we again?"
And, I'd proudly say,"It's more like being part of a SECULAR COUNTRY Ma"!
Merry Christmas everybody, wherever you are..!
