Christmas ... like everything in life, depends on the prism through which you look. I could say it's the era of consumerism, waste, that there are only toys advertisements, or that we do not really know the meaning of Christmas...
But ...
what the hell!! I like meals and family dinners, snacks with friends, street
lights, holidays, parties, I like when we say a thousand of times “Merry
Christmas" and "Happy New Year"; I also love gifts, kisses here
and there, the moments before, during and after the New Year... Moreover, I
like that good aura that people have, generally speaking, this period ... and
so many other things!
I can
assure that the fact of being far from my home in Spain makes me appreciate and
value it twice.
It is the
second Christmas I am not in Spain, but it does not mean that I can´t enjoy
this time in Bulgaria!
Here they also
have a strong Christmas tradition. At the Elderly House centre we helped the staff
with the decoration of the whole centre. We really enjoyed working with some of
the residents here.
The Daily Care
Centre also decorated its building. It was nice when one afternoon the
children’s parents came and help us to decorate the different rooms.
I was happy
when I realised that Bulgarian people also have the tradition of the shepherds!
In both centres a different group of young people came in their traditional
costumes to sing and dance traditional songs. It reminded me when I was a child
and I was dressed in similar costumes. I was delighted because this kind of
events helps us learn a lot about a country.
Lourdes and
I were abroad during the most important days, it is, 24th of
December and 31st of December. On the first date we were in Istanbul
were they don’t follow these traditions, but Lourdes and me made our own
celebration; we went to the Turkish baths in the afternoon and later we had a
special Turkish dinner with one of the most traditional and delicious dishes
there.
In New Year’s
Eve we were in Thessaloniki, Greece. In Spain, the last 12 seconds of the year
we eat 12 grapes, one in each second, which represents the 12 months of a year.
If you finish the 12 grapes in time you are supposed to have good luck during
the next year. In Greece they don’t have this tradition but it was very nice making
the countdown in Greek, and after that beautiful fireworks!
To finish,
I will say that we had a very interesting time and we won’t forget it for the
rest of our lives!
No comments:
Post a Comment