It's Holiday Season again. Errr...I dunno if in India we can actually
call it a 'Holiday Season' considering we just get a day off on X'mas
unlike a good 10 day break in the 'West'. Like the stress of year end @
work wasn't enough, Indian offices are open even on the 1st of January
(at least mine is  ). But nevertheless, it's the most beautiful time
of the year. X'mas decorations all over the city...night carols at the
church...the mid night mass...the plum cakes...the wine...and of course
the tiny figures of Joseph, Mary, baby Jesus, the three wise men and
some animals scattered here n there in the small yet cosy barn reminding
you of the reason for the holidays itself.

As a child, I was always fascinated by X'mas and everything surrounding
this festival. Being a Hindu, we never celebrated it. But that never
stopped me from putting up a 'Star' in the porch. I would religiously go
to the corner make-shift Star shop every year and pick up whatever my
pocket money allowed. I would balance myself on the wooden stool and
hang the Star with a bulb inside it. Every evening I would switch on the
Star, look at it through the window now n then and smile . It gave me
immense pride as ours was the only Hindu house on the street that had a
glowing X'mas Star outside. May be at some level that was my way for
National Integration.

I remember visiting my friend D'souza (we used to call him Mr.D) on
X'mas every year and wishing him n his family. I would sit down with all
of them and feast on the vegetarian dish made exclusively for me (I was
a hard core vegetarian in those days) while the rest of them relished on
the various forms of meat and bread. Home made wine (made by Daphany
aunty - Mr.D's mom) along with a plate full of plum cake was served. I
made the most of it as it was the only day I was allowed to drink wine.
The wine, so smooth and light, that even ten glasses wouldn't give you a
high.

The Holiday Season was also the time when they aired movies that
revolved around X'mas. Every movie had a Santa Claus...lots of
gifts...and lots of snow. Cochin, the town I grew up in, has never seen
temperatures below 24 degrees. Forget snowing, even a chilly evening was
not desirable. But every night (during the holidays) I went up to the
terrace and stared at the sky. I would wait n wait... to spot Santa
Claus n the 9 reindeers. Silly, yes, but I guess each one of us at some
point in time have waited for Santa Claus to bring us precious gifts.

And not to forget the X'mas parties in school where one of the teachers
would dress up as Santa and all of us would speculate as to which one it
is. The fake Santa would throw sweets at the audience while he/ she
would sway away to 'Jingle Bells'. And the much awaited speech where
Santa would speak..err...mutter rather, through the tiny hole on the
face mask. Much awaited coz that gave us a clue as to which teacher was
being fake Santa. The guessing game gave us some cheap thrill.

Well...it's been ages since I've celebrated X'mas. The yearly tradition
of putting up a Star hasn't happened in over 7 years now. School days
are long gone and so are those X'mas parties. I stopped staring at the
sky after junior high. Lost touch with Mr.D after I moved outta Cochin.
I don't wait for X'mas anymore to drink wine. But having said that I
wish I could get a chance to do all those things again. If I could be a
kid and relive those times and play the 'Guessing game' just one more
time.

Merry X'mas to all of you!