'Tis the season of joy, whether you are 'home alone' or at a 'Christmas family reunion'!

I can’t Ho Ho Ho for you, at least not through your device, nor can I offer you a cup of hot chocolate. But as I write this article, I hope it feels exactly like a Christmas movie: warm, loving and a tad cringy!

With just a few days left for Christmas, we seem to be breathing excitement into the air that is already oozing festivity.

Maybe it is the thrill of the new year beginning in just a few days, or the fond memories of Mr Claus that fill us with pleasant nostalgia, ‘tis the season of joy and joy we shall have!

Though Christmas for many means different things, the goal is one: To have fun in whatever capacity we can!

While for some this means a chance to get creative with decorations, for others Christmas is the time their family gets together and they would not have it any other way!

“In the last year, the house has been an empty nest with the kids moving out of the state or getting married. But Christmas is the time when they all come back and the house bustles with activity again. They’re back now and we have put up the star, decorated the tree, set up the crib. Soon, we’ll start preparing sweets as well,” shared Olivia Fernandes from Goa who believes that Christmas is “the time for family”.

As some wait for their family to come, others count days all year to book their tickets back home for Christmas like Chris Fleming Anthony, a 24-year-old PR professional currently working in Bengaluru who is on his way back home. “Growing up in Jamshedpur, Christmas was a magical time, woven with the love and dedication of my parents. This Christmas, as I return home as an earning member, it isn’t just about decorations and gifts; it’s about expressing deep gratitude. In the moments leading up to the festivities, I reflect on the sacrifices my parents made while I was growing up. This Christmas, more than ever, is about turning tables and giving my parents the happiness they so generously gave me.”

Chris adds that even as he heads home this Christmas, first time as an earning member of the family, the festival for him will always be “a journey of love, appreciation and an unwavering bond.”

While it sure is that time of the year when all members of the family come back home to rejuvenate, it is also a reminder for those physically living together to take time out of their otherwise busy schedules and reconnect.

“December has always been lively and exciting in our home. You'd think our house would be lit up for the entire season but in true ‘last-minute family’ tradition, we always end up decorating on Christmas Eve. It's the one night when everyone is at home, hanging up wreaths, detangling fairy lights and holding down the wobbly ladder while dad gets up to decorate the front door with tinsel. Come Christmas day, we're up early, dressed in our best and ready for church,” says Blessy Jeremy who lives in Bengaluru. Her mother is a TV preacher, father a businessman, and her brother a musician. So you can imagine how much hustle goes on in that house all through the year. But Christmas, adds Blessy, is their chance to be truly festive and gift giving in her household is a “serious business”.

“Playing Secret Santa has become one of our favourite traditions. Some years have truly been special with surprise flowers and silly notes and finding new presents under the tree each time you walk past it! One of my favourite memories has to be Christmas of 2015. My sister was pregnant and our usual Christmas plans were thrown out of the window when her routine checkup showed that she was ready to go into labour, on Christmas Eve. It was an evening I'll never forget since that was the day my little nephew Philip arrived into the world and he has truly been my greatest gift since.”

Sure Christmas is about huge families and echoing laughter, but there are also many who have to celebrate away from family. While recreating the Christmas back home is not an easy task, this is a chance for new traditions to be born that one day may even become permanent.

Brought up in Bengaluru, Blessy Issac who currently lives in Canada with her spouse, shares, “I have a few traditions that I like to keep doing every year no matter where I am. It's definitely the first time I am celebrating it away from home and with my husband. It's a mixed feeling especially since I am unable to celebrate it with my parents. Usually we bake together during this time but since I am away I have to do the baking alone. I am finding small ways to keep the tradition going by putting up a small tree and lights inside the house”

While Christmas brings with it a lot of food, fun and decor, it also reminds some people of their bitter-sweet memories from the past.

Nikita Noronha, a teacher in Bengaluru, recalls that she had to always depend on someone else to make her Christmas Merry.

“Amongst all things Christmassy, the Christmas Tree brings back a lot of memories. After the death of my Father in 2005 (13 years of age), it was taken away from us and since then I have never been able to have one. It was only at the age of 29 (2022) that the Noronha household welcomed it's very own Christmas Tree. To me, the Tree symbolised stability in life, something that I have craved for the past 30 years."

“Life had dealt my Mom and I quite the hand but what I realised is that It will never be about the tree, or the lights or the clothes. What I missed the most as a 13 year old or even 30 is being with my family! Being loved and accepted unconditionally, for who I am,” adds Nikita.

For some, the season of joy is their time to take a walk down the memory lane like for Namisha Kaushik, a 23-year-old working professional in Bangalore who believes that no amount of office decoration or Christmas trees can beat the happiness she felt when in the ninth grader her school principal was her Secret Santa. While Namisha refuses to be termed as a “teacher’s pet”, what do you call a person whose favourite Christmas memory is getting a gift from the school principal? Either way, she has kept the tiffin box safely till date and takes it out every once in a while and hides before her mother tries to talk her into throwing it away.

While there is an evident fourth wall in theatre where I would have ended the show by looking you in the eye and asking you to take a moment to think of your fondest Christmas memory while I wait for you to give me a standing ovation, consider yourself asked! And nevermind the standing ovation, my great imagination can already hear one, and for you to imagine me, I am sitting in a cafe, sipping hot cocoa, wearing a Christmas cap and writing this article!

And before you leave, Merry Christmas readers and a happy new year!