Christmas is a celebration I always look forward to. I love everything about Christmas. Christmas is always nostalgic. I have fond memories of Christmas. As we near the countdown to Christmas, I just wanted to share my happy memories with you. Those little memories with my dear ones, which I will cherish throughout my life. Do you have such favorite Christmas memories? Do share it with me in the comment section.
I have always waited for Christmas to arrive to start decorating. I love decorating the Christmas tree, my house, and the crib. These decorations create the ambiance and bring the merriness of the holidays. Readymade cribs are available today. But We make the Christmas crib at home using cardboard, wood, and hay. All the pieces of the nativity set will be placed early except Baby Jesus. We would wait till late at night to place it in the crib.
Christmas is celebrated across the globe. Irrespective of religion, every house and shop in Kerala (My native place) will at least light up a star. New LED stars have replaced the old paper stars. Every shop and street will be decorated with stars and Christmas lights. You might even catch a glimpse of Christmas trees and cribs placed on main junctions or street corners by various residence associations and shop owners. The twinkling of the colorful serial lights in the dark takes you into some magical world.
You could feel Christmas in the air. The December fog and the early morning cool breeze make it more endearing. We do not have snow in Kerala. The images and visuals of the snow-clad December in the US and Europe have always captivated me. Snow-adorned trees and buildings beautifully decorated with Christmas lights and adornments have always fascinated me. It remains one of my greatest dreams to visit such a place during the holiday season. For me, Christmas smells like freshly baked cakes, finely aged grape wine, and the mouth-watering dishes made for the Christmas feast.
Right from my childhood the biggest attraction of Christmas was the cakes. You get to eat a lot of variety cakes. But the cake of the season is the plum cakes in Kerala. the cake-making process begins before at least a month. Big hotels and shopping malls host the cake-mixing ceremony where the dry fruits are soaked in wine, rum, or orange juice and left to absorb for at least a month before they begin the cake-baking process. My mouth just watered thinking about cakes.
"What is Christmas without wine?" This question takes me back to a time when my mother used to make grape wine at least a month before Christmas in large porcelain jars. As soon as we returned from the church after the mass, my father would cut a Christmas cake, and we would eat it with a glass of homemade grape wine. The alcohol content in homemade wine is less, so even kids can drink it in those beautiful baby wine glasses. However, it can create a slight intoxication that is more than enough to bring in the Christmas merriness.
Christmas breakfast. a stew is a must. Mostly, chicken, beef, or mutton is used for making stew. It is eaten with bread/ appams. My favorite combo is the beef stew and rice puttu. The cake cut into pieces will be left at the table so that we can eat it as we please whenever we pass by the table.
Turkey might be a star attraction on the Christmas menu in Western countries. But in our part of Kerala during lunch, the Duck roast is the main item on the menu. It's the only time of the year when I stop worrying about rising cholesterol levels and dive into the food. 😀You can worry about that in the new year with your new set of resolutions. Right now, it's the time to bid farewell to this wonderful year that went by, and let us do it in style with a feast. 😉
I love to see my mom making beef cutlets. The meatballs are shaped into cutlets, dipped in egg mixture, and finally coated with bread crumbs and deep fried in oil. We will walk around the kitchen when she starts frying, the aroma is so inviting, and we will be restless until we get the hot steaming cutlets in our hands. it will be so hot that I will take a bite and blow out the steam. oh, I love to eat cutlets this way. my mom's special dish is the pork sweet and sour. I love this version of pork cooked with sauces and sauteed vegetables because of its sweetness, and it is not available like biriyani or chili chicken in restaurants.
Sending greeting cards has become a sweet memory today. During my school days, my parents used to give me money to buy greeting cards, which I would give to my best friends in school. I loved to pick up cards with cute pictures of puppies, kittens in scenic places, or a happy Santa. With the advent of emails, people stopped sending greeting cards. Now, most people wish through WhatsApp by sending copy-pasting messages or posting pics of their family celebrating through Instagram or Facebook. I missed those good old days when I kept those greeting cards from friends like treasure. I would read those greetings and gush in happiness. It would take you years down memory lane.
One tradition that's not religiously followed here is the exchange of gifts. We dont stack gifts under the Christmas tree. How I wished somebody gave me some Christmas gifts😩
More than the gifts, I wish to be with my dear ones during this season of joy. Every smile, every laugh, every cuddle, every moment of being loved is precious.
I wish everyone who is reading this message a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year with your loved ones 😀.
(Wishing to share the electric vibe that every Keralite feels for Christmas. Watch the Instagram video below, have a good laugh, and pass on the laugh to your dear ones😬)
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