These last six alphabets are the trickiest ones. For Letter X and my theme, I can think of only Xmas. In the C post, I talked about the cultural and emotional side of festivals for Indians here. The same applies to American festivals for people over here. Thanksgiving and Christmas are the two major festivals. People wait for the time of the year to come. They keep their shopping lists ready. After October, stores are filled with Thanksgiving decorations, and after that comes Christmas. Now, when they have only these two major festivals then ideally it should be a big celebration, there should be the festivity in the air, in your surroundings, right? That’s how it is in India at the time of Dussehra and Diwali or, for that matter, Ganesh Chaturthi. When I think of Diwali back home, lights everywhere, in streets, neighborhoods, shops. Everywhere. There is a festive feel in the air. Malls are decorated with a big Christmas tree and other decorations. Having the same idea in mind, when I experienced Xmas in the USA in 2007, I was a little bit upset. I was expecting more. Maybe because I was putting Diwali and Xmas on the same weighing scale. I thought here Christmas means our Diwali. I was very excited to see the Xmas celebration, but nothing of that sort happened.

 

 

People in America like to decorate the outsides of their houses with lights and sometimes even statues of Santa Claus, Snowmen and Reindeer. It is common to organize a special meal, exchange gifts with family and friends. Children, in particular, receive a lot of gifts from their parents and other relatives and the mythical figure Santa Clause. Some Americans use pop-corn threaded on a string to help decorate Christmas Tree. Making Gingerbread house is also popular to make and eat Christmas! Eggnog is a traditional drink in the USA.

 

 

Now when I see it, there is nothing that seems incomplete. But initially, it felt slightly different. Maybe because I was so used to of Indian way of celebrating festivals.

 

How most of the Indians celebrate Xmas here:

For us, it is just like any other holiday. Many families put big or small Christmas Trees. Get-togethers are an automatic extension of any holiday season. We also host a party with the desi tadka. For this post, once again, my blogger friends have helped me.

Archana from archusblog shared her experience:

“During my visit to India with my son for my younger sis wedding in November 2015, where my husband joined us later while booking return tickets to USA we were quite confused when to book we had 2 options 1) after celebrating my son’s 6th birthday there which was held on January 2nd and 2) before December 25th so that we can experience our first Christmas in the USA (which supposed to be one of the biggest celebration for Americans). Eventually, we zeroed in on the second option and booked return tickets of December 19th to the USA so that we could get enough time to get over Jetlag. In between, I used to peep around to get some glimpses of Christmas preparations, but sadly, it didn’t match my expectations. Still, I held my curiosity to the highest thinking of maybe on the D-Day, Americans use to do a big shout out dancing fun hurrrayyy kind of enjoyment, the way we Indians do on our festivals. Nevertheless, here came my first Christmas in the USA. On the D- day we were all set to have some gala time, O my Goodness, what is this? The whole city was super quiet, empty roads, closed stores, and the church closed, not a single sign of celebration. I was thinking about where has everyone gone. I felt “kash humne option 1 choose kar liya hota”!!!”

 

And now, let’s read how was Surbhi’s, who blogs at surbhiprapanna, experience…

“Christmas is one of the most favorite festivals of my girls, and we always had loads of fun during this time of year. As it has been said that firsts are always special, I also had plenty of amazing memories of our first Christmas celebration in the USA. It was in the year 2015, and we were in Connecticut. This was the time when we had witnessed our first celebration, along with the first snowfall experience: first snow, amazing lighting, beautiful home decoration, gift shopping, and Christmas craft making. I had so many incredibly magical memories related to that first Christmas celebration. Learning about new and unique Christmas traditions was another thing that has mesmerized me a lot and filled my heart with so much joy and warmth. All and all, it was a “one in lifetime” experience that has given me so many magical moments and loving family memories that I will cherish throughout my life.”

 

Thank you, Archana and Surbhi, for sharing your thought about this topic. I hope you must have enjoyed their experiences and memories.

 

Coming from a country where festivals are the significant part of the living, our mind looks for the same celebration, fun, and vibes, but when we are living in a different culture, then we have to get used to their way of celebration. Festivals are all about having good vibes, spending some quality time, and spreading joy and happiness. If you happen to make a trip to the USA during Xmas or if you have already made one then l would love to know your experience. 

 

This post is part of #BlogchatterA2Z. My theme is “Dollar Nation – Are You Ready to Experience the West Through My Eyes?”

You can read the previous posts by clicking on each alphabets.

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