~Watch out, look around
Something’s coming, coming to town
Something magic in the night
Can you see it shining bright?”
No matter where I am, or how old I am, I still get excited about the holidays…
When I was living in the UK, Christmas was the only time I had the whole flat to myself. I went somewhat wild. My flat mate helped me make paper chains before she left for home; I bought scented candles for every room, so the place smelled like cinnamon and sugar cookies. I decorated my own tree, and I baked, oh Goddess did I ever bake. Made Christmas cookies, brownies, even made my own (non-alcoholic) mead. Many of you have sampled my mother’s baking, I’m proud to say I take after her. And I bake when I’m stressed, so when we were getting towards the end of the college term, the sight of me walking into class with a tin of fresh baked double-chocolate-chip cookies was not at all uncommon…
Anyway…that was then.
When I’m on contract for the holidays (which as of late, has been more often than not), I pack a tiny Christmas tree with me, with ornaments and lights, and yes, I’m one of those ones who smuggles a strand of christmas tree lights into her cabin (they’re not on the official list of things we’re “not allowed” to have, but it pays to be careful).
I have an entire library of Christmas movies on my hard drive (And I’m still missing some, I’ll have to order at least one from Amazon to be shipped to FLL before we get there). I have an almost endless list of Christmas music in my media library.
And yes, for those of you who know the seemingly worldwide tradition (at least if you’re thinking of the Western world), I have a copy of the Coca Cola “Holidays are Coming” commercial as well.
Hey, it’s not Christmas until that commercial runs. It’s stupid and superficial, but I’m so not the only one it’s true for!
Some people find it odd that I’m such a Christmas person. I could try and explain it, but I don’t think I could make it make any sense. I could go into the multiple reasons why it isn’t actually that unusual, but it’s not anything to do with that either. Christmas…makes me happy. It always has. Even when I was working retail, and Christmas ‘started’ in September. When I was little, Christmas took forever to come. I think I was too young then to realize how much work my mother put into it. When you’re a child, the magic just appears overnight, you don’t remember it coming out of the attic, you don’t remember it going back in. You just remember it being there.
As for the ship.. the ship…goes…crazy…at Christmas. Just under a month from now, the ship will be unrecognizable. Not only will there be children everywhere (estimate for the kid count are 145 for the first cruise of December alone), but there will be Christmas everywhere.
It doesn’t emerge quietly either, it erupts. Suddenly there are Christmas trees in the Atrium, with snow (some ships actually have snow machines on board just for this season), they serve egg nog in champagne flutes. And yes, Santa visits us too…
And when all that comes, on the surface, it will still lack something. It will feel too forced, too formal, too contrived.
What will feel more like Christmas for me? And for others like me who celebrate the holidays far away from home, in the middle of strange ports that we may or may not even get to see? Are the tiny things we bring with us. The miniature Christmas trees with their miniature decorations that our parents reminded us to pack, the paperchains we make out of kid’s club supplies and the Christmas carols we play through our computers.
As usual, it will come…it will come without ribbons, it will come without tags, it will come without packages boxes or bags….
Somethin’ magic, in the night 