Living in Peru : your everyday companion

By Ivana Zdravkovic

She pulls on her blue goggles, stretches a wide smile and splashes into the wavy pool. She swims towards her dad and hangs around his neck. “I can’t wait anymore”, she says.

“What are you waiting for?” he replies. “Christmas, daddy”. He lifts her gently and smiles. She, on the other hand is taking it seriously.

Christmas is serious, you know. A day with no time; or more like a silent day. After the rushing, pushing, swiping cards exercise, lists, big red bows, stuffing and sweating, the word hits its breaks and adopts a special attitude of love.

It’s funny but it seems that growing up breaks you apart from Christmas, in so many ways. “I don’t do Christmas”, most of my friends would say, but what else is there to do on a Christmas day?

Overlooking the religious reasons I feel that we need a day during the year to remind us to spend some time with our family. If we don’t, it is sad and depressing. Just like in those old cartoons where a lonely character is walking down a snowy street looking through the large windows as happy families decorate the Christmas tree.

Maybe Christmas is even more of an individual holiday than a gathering event. A day that defines how alone you really are. Some thoughts just emerge all of the sudden depending o your age: was I a good boy, should I forgive and forget, what does she like, will I have enough time, when do we start, will they come this year? We let others step into our heads, we care, we dress in red, we decorate, and we are humble.

Maybe Christmas is a psychological therapy forcing us to explore our present. Maybe it’s a commercial activity made up to turn us into unreasonable consumers. Maybe it’s true and false at the same time, so instead of making us happy it’s driving us crazy with the brainwashing jingles. I see those “made in china bulbs” wrapped around the trees and I must say a part of that exaggeration makes the streets beautiful at night. It reminds me that summer is about to start even though I will never again taste those long summer vacations.

Maybe we need Christmas to bring back some childish feeling. You know, we lose them once we make our wishes come true by using credit cards and medication prescriptions.

Maybe, after all, it all comes down to one simple and essential thing: We need closure at the end of the years to love and be loved and instead of doing it every day we need to put on our Christmas mask and “Do some Christmas”.