Merry Christmas

 Many of my friends wished- Happy birthday to Jesus. I realised that most of the festivals is the celebration of one's presence. Christmas marks Jesus birth and his presence. All of us celebrate each other in our own ways and Christmas is celebrated in many ways at many places. As a child, I remember gathering as a family, attending church, sharing gifts and spreading more love. As an adult, we've moved places and festival celebrations have changed in many fold. 

Here, in Geneva, attended Christmas eve mass at St.Pierre Cathedral where the choir sang carols while different people recited the 9 lessons of christmas walking us through the event of Jesus birth. Starting my day with an intention of celebrating christmas, I cleaned the house, cleared a lot of unused stuff and gathered at Grusha's place to celebrate christmas. Grusha cheered me up with a lot of  delicious food- baked chicken, veggies, cheese, pasta, cake, snacks and a lot more. Munching on snacks and recounting good old days, we listened to Grusha's soul music- Fado which she discovered in her last Portugal trip. 

While we regaled in happy times, we painted giving each others word to interpret asking- what my word means to you and your word means to me? I gave her words Bloom and Night. She prompted me with Green and Water. 

Adam joined us for the dinner and shared what it means to celebrate as a community and shared his passionate project of documenting the social history of his community. I got a chance to see a very old black and white pictures of his family in plain white albums. I felt elated to hold the pictures in my hands and see the time frozed in the photographs. 

Grusha got us christmas gifts and called it a day with hot chocolate. Thanks Grusha for having me in 2024 Christmas.