I personally love Christmas and I don´t get stressed over it :) but this post is based on my experiences throughout my 29 years of what happens when Christmas is near
Now, first of all I feel like they are putting all of the Christmas stuff up in stores every year earlier and earlier and maybe that is something that´s effecting people in a way that they get the stress and stress combined with the shopping hysteria equals chaos :-D
I usually buy my gifts way before October to avoid going to the city center in November and December and last buy´s are from the wonderful world wide web if I have forgotten to get something because something hilarious always happens especially in December in Vaasa. The Christmas songs start to play in every store ( basically Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer on repeat ), the mood that the songs are creating is cheerful but if I look at the people in the store, their demeanor, faces and behaving patterns it something else. People are frowning, sweating in their thick winter jackets, their kids are screaming to get their parents to buy stuff, people are pushing each other to get out of the way and people are just well basically rude and every store in my city is like cramped with people, I don´t like it even though it has some humor value to it too, so you won´t see me in a store in December, except in a grocery store.
22. of December people suddenly realize that they don´t have their Christmas foods yet, so everybody rushes to the grocery store at 4 pm causing chaos and mayhem :-D there are people on every aisle having a conversation with a friend who they haven´t seen in a while blocking the way with their shopping carts, people are running around with massive grocery lists back and forth in store, again some with their kids who are stressed to the max in the flow of people. I do my last grocery shopping 19th of December because honestly, nobody´s at the store on that day buying groceries :-D also I make everything that´s served on Christmas eve myself, and I start around the independence day ( 6th of Dec in Finland ) with the stuff that I can put in the freezer to wait and im one with the food on 22nd and then I can sit back enjoy before the Christmas eve.
Somehow I think I might have the wrong understanding about Christmas in comparison to many people, for me it´s a time to see friends, have some glow wine with friends boosted with cinnamon and apple cider, play in the snow, build a snowman with my son, bake the ginger bread house for Christmas eve, make the Finnish traditional breads for Christmas dinner and just relaxing.
Ok so Christmas eve.. 24th is the day to have the x-mas dinner and exchange gifts in Finland ( and other parts of Scandinavia and Fenno-Scandinavia). Most people have the traditional rice porridge in the morning, head out to the cemetery to take the candles, go to their parents, eat exchange gifts and then clean up.. and then they are tired as hell and go to bed :-D I have made the choice when my son was born that I won´t go anywhere on Christmas eve and we are staying at home, so everyone who want´s to join us for Christmas dinner and spend the evening at my place are welcome so usually I have my closest circle of people, my family over at my place with the exception of my oldest bro who comes over before x-mas eve cause he want´s to spend the evening with his family .. We take the candles to the cemetery on 23rd in the evening and admire the sea of candles before heading home. I put the ham in the oven before I go to bed on 23rd, when I wake up on the 24th before my son does I take out the ham from the over, put some honey and mustard on it and stick it to the oven for another 30 mins, start to cook the rice porridge and usually at that point my son wakes up and I give him the first gifts (my gifts) and tell him that the elf´s brought the first ones because Santa´s slay was so full, that we he stay´s happy until it´s time to exchange the rest of the gifts and the Santa really comes ( I always hire and actor to be the Santa for my son, cause he loves it :) ). we have the Christmas morning porridge and take out a little plate outside for the house elf so that he will watch over us the following year ( it´s me that really eats it during his nap and make little footprints with my fingers in the snow around the plate and leave it there for him to find and notice that the elf really ate it.. the porridge however tastes like crap when it´s cold :-D sacrifices that mothers make.. right? :-D ) the we watch a show called the Santa´s hotline, kids can call in and make merry Christmas wishes for their loved ones and sing to Santa before Santa leaves to deliver the gifts, kids love... well I love the show too :-D then we watch the Christmas peace declaration in Finland, then we watch a must cartoon for every Christmas eve -> the snowman and then we cry a bit watching it. ( here is a link to the part that makes us cry : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xb-pX7sIjFY and the part too where the snowman has vanished, that makes us cry too ) we are a bit sensitive that way :-D then we watch Walt Disney´s Christmas cartoons. after that I usually go and fire up the Christmas fires in the garden and the snow and ice lanterns and then I start heating the x-mas dinner, when everyone comes over we eat, the Santa comes and after that just relax and spend the evening together and play a few board games so for me Christmas is all about love, time to relax and enjoy, eat well and see the joy on my son´s face--
never got the stress and chaos and I do my best to avoid it :) try to do the same and it´s easier to stay sane this year around :-D
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