To the British, as with other Christian societies, Christmas is a very special time. It is a time for families to get together, it is a time of remembering friends, loved ones, of giving, and eating traditional foods.
The UK will close for the 25th December, with no trains, buses running, no shops open, well perhaps one or two corner shops mostly run and owned by non believers, the whole country comes to a stop. Hospitals will try and send as many people home as possible, to empty the wards. The streets will be empty.
It is the day when Father Christmas or Santa Claus will visit during the early hours, climbing down the chimney delivering presents, filling the Christmas stocking with little gifts and oranges. It will be where the children will leave a minced pie and a glass of sherry as a gift for Santa, so that he can deliver all the presents to all the boys and girls of the world.
It is the day when we will sit down as a family to eat the traditional turkey lunch, with roast potatoes, sprouts, cranberry sauce, followed by Christmas pudding with brandy butter, minced pies, trifle, and a Christmas cake. We stuff ourselves. After the meal, it seems that the men of the family have to have a mandatory sleep, whilst the women wash-up and prepare for an equally large evening meal.
This year I find myself for Christmas in Bukit Mertajam, our home in Malaysia.
As I had been delivering courses in Turkey prior to the Christmas holiday break, there had been no build-up to the festivities, nothing. I had not sent any cards to relatives or friends, brought no presents, not even for myself.
So although the family in Malaysia will celebrate Xmas, after all the Chinese will celebrate anything, it is not the same. I had no presents to give and I received non either, it was just another day.
Mee Len’s sister Amy with her husband Yang had prepared food for a small family gathering at my brother-in-laws Thiang’s house next door. We were joined by Han and Anna with their daughter from Singapore, and my brother-in-law John’s family. Other bothers and sisters, members of the family of Mee Len, could not make it for various reasons.
It was good to gather as a family, but where was my turkey? Curried chicken in the foreground is not quite the same, and no roast potatoes.