Getting the balance right
Hello everyone!
It’s almost Christmas time and I’ve been locked into a small dusty closet with my computer. Our social media coordinator, Frau Johannsohn, has told me, “Zer vill be no Kreesmas until you haf eine blogschrievie (blog post). schnell!”
These were harsh words to hear. Mostly because of her accent. But, in all fairness, for what was supposed to be a weekly blog I’ve been rather negligent in producing material. As a substitution they’ve been forced to feature vegetables instead. But, there’s only so many different angles you can take on kale (although, have you tried the kale colon cleanse? AMAZING!), so its time for something new, different and festive.
So, Christmas. What do I do at Christmas? Well, coming from a Dutch tradition we didn’t really do the standard Canadian Christmas. Christmas was separate from Sinter Klaas. This occurs on December 5th in Holland but my parents did a hybrid of both systems, which meant present opening could occur at any given moment during the winter holidays. Except for Christmas. This drove me crazy as a kid. We didn’t even have a Christmas tree. No set time, and no set place to rally around. It was all bad strategy and execution in my book.
But then it would happen: Out my mom would come with a laundry basket full of presents to the sound of trumpets and fanfare. We children would leap for joy, finally about to experience consumerist nirvana. And that we did with lego, flashlights, puzzles, remote controlled cars, pajamas, etc, etc.
For our family now, it’s pretty clear our kids still have a similar appreciation for presents, and we’ve restored order in the universe by putting a Christmas tree in the house and opening presents on the day where you oughta: Christmas Day. The Dutch are crazy with their Sinter Klaas madness.
Kids , Christmas, and presents are definitely together at last in our house but we try to keep a lid on the insanity of the season. In our house, Christmas is still about Jesus being born, awe-struck shepherds, grateful Joseph and Mary, adoring angels, and a loving God.
So, from our family to yours: Merry Christmas!