Christmas is over, finished, until next year. This is my second Canadian Christmas and I must say that here we do not skimp on the decoration, the stores compete for their imaginative showcases, Christmas carols are looped from morning to night (I became an expert on the song in recent weeks) and Toronto even has its own special Christmas radio station. Yes here we eat, drink and breathe Christmas for weeks and we get caught up quickly.
First of all we can easily take inspiration from the trees that we see on Pinterest without breaking the bank thanks to Dollorama which offers tons of deco at low prices (I want to warn you Dollorama is a little Ikea effect: I have some cheap stuff in my basket and I still have a blind), a little advice anyway: do not wait for the last moment, here the decoration of Christmas trees is a national sport and the spokes are Empty at an incredible speed. If you are a fan of paper and gift bags, cards, labels and other stationery, Canada is for you. We do not just offer a nice gift, we also put the forms!
If you are like me and you quickly pack to the first notes of any music that seems to you out of a movie you will love walking around town and hear the Christmas carols in front of the shops. My favorite moment ? When I walk to Union Station and a musician plays live on the corner of Bay and Front, he is there often and every time I expect to live one of these scenes of movies where someone comes to surprise us in full street to declare us his flame. I have been there only a few times I do not despair that it happens one day ^^.
Then there are all the Christmas parties, work, friends. Gifts. The thing here is Secret Santa: we choose a budget, we draw lots and we have to give him a gift. Sometimes we do not know the identity of the person only his sex. As much I was excited by the idea at the beginning, cohesion, exchange of gifts, opportunity to get together the team at work for example so much afterwards I am more skeptical. Forcing myself to give very little gifts to me. And finally this is what emerges each year: to force to give gifts to cousin Gertrude and Aunty Micheline without wanting to. And this worship of: what did you get? In my family gifts are not important especially since we are all great, I tried for many years to fight against it by being the only one to hang on to this tradition and make gifts. Then finally I tried to understand why they did not attach importance to gifts. And why I attached so much importance. I understood that it was society that made me feel uncomfortable if I did not have gifts to show off like everyone else. What bothered me was that I did not have all the latest trends and a tree that was crumbling under the gift wrap. Then I refocused on the essentials, I learned to appreciate the precious time that I spent at the table with dishes more delicious than others that my father or my grandfather cooked with all the love of the world. A time when time stops and we create together memories that we will tell for years. This moment where the space of one evening we find all the complicity of children with our brothers and sisters. Where we enjoy being together is everything.
Over the last 7 years, Christmas has changed a lot for me, I went from the person who loved Christmas to the one who hated this time for family reasons to the one who was far from his family and finally back to leave. In short I’m not going to make you cry, it’s Christmas we should all be happy, we’re with family, we’re far away, we’re missing someone around the table we must enjoy the moment with those who are there. It’s far from easy but I promise you it’s worth a try. I spent a very nice Christmas surrounded by beautiful people who will not replace my family but for a few hours made me relive the magic of Christmas with a good meal, our traditions, our laughs and especially full of love.
See you next year Christmas.
Au fait la vidéo FAQ est en ligne: http://bit.ly/2zecrOn
Photo of the Christmas dinner with friends a few days with Christmas. For info: salmon: Loblaws, foie gras: Chabichou.
