OLD CHRISTMAS

 OLD CHRISTMAS

"Ring the bell, little one, the bell of Bethlehem...

He was already born, God the Child, for our good...

Peace on Earth, speaks the bell, happily ringing,

Bless, God Child, this home of ours..."

And isn't it that in a week it's already Christmas? My God, how this year has flown by! Just yesterday it was still January... it seems that time has sped up lately! Well, considering the events of the last few months, we could even say that time passes so quickly is a blessing. We could... but it's not like that. If the feeling that time is running out around us is so palpable in the air, that means we're missing something. And that's definitely not good...

When I was a kid, I loved Christmas. Even without expectations of receiving gifts from Santa Claus... we knew that our parents were the ones who gave the gifts... because the financial situation at home was never the best, for some reason this time of year was filled with an air of enchantment and magic that is difficult to explain. I don't know... maybe the boiled chicken for Christmas lunch (it wasn't often that we had such a delicacy on the table... although I didn't eat it, I never liked boiled meat, but the smell was just fantastic), or who knows, the cake that my mother baked for the day ... it was the only time of the year when we had cake at home ... well, I can't explain it, but it was a very special day. Normally we went to attend Missa do Galo in the little church in the neighborhood. It was crowded... that magical air gave a whole special reason for the night... and the apex was the fireworks display, at the end of the mass.

I confess that I don't like the sound of firecrackers. I don't know why, but the noise of these bothers me, a lot. And the smell of burning gunpowder... but despite that, at that moment, I thought the sky lit up with a profusion of colors was beautiful, as if a thousand new stars were suddenly born...

Well, after the Mass, we all went back to our homes. It was the day when we could play until later... it is important to remember that at that time there was no public lighting in this region. So, you could only play in the yard if it was a full moon night. The men would gather in one of the houses... sometimes it was in ours... they would tune their instruments and spend the rest of the night singing Folia de Reis songs and drinking cachaça, to celebrate that festive date. Sometimes they went from house to house, taking with them the homage to the birth of the Son of God. Others stayed all night in one place. The magic of that homage was almost palpable. Well, of course the kids didn't stay up all night. There was a time when they gave up the stitches and fell asleep in Morpheus' arms...

The next day it was time to debut the new toys. Whoever was lucky enough to win gifts from their parents was comradely enough to share them with those who had not won anything. And everyone had fun...

My first doll, a Christmas present, I got when my father got a job at a company that at the end of the year threw a party for all employees and their families. It was an indescribable emotion to receive my gift from Santa Claus for the first time in my life. My little brother got a racing car. He had hot dogs, cake, sweets... and in the end we even got a Christmas basket... yes, it was simply a fantastic day in our lives.

To get an idea of how outdated we were... shall we say... in terms of gastronomy, a ham and a jar of mayonnaise came in the basket. Christmas was still a fortnight away, so the ham should either be consumed immediately, as it would not resist outside the refrigerator, or, for the reason I explained, kept in a refrigerator. We didn't have a fridge, so... my parents just didn't know what to do, so they decided to save the ham for Christmas... of course it got spoiled and they had to throw it away... as for the mayonnaise, my mom had no idea what to do with that. A few days later, when my aunt came to visit, my mother showed her the jar. The aunt told her what it was, and told her it was delicious... my mother listened, and as she had no idea how to use it, she ended up giving the bottle to her sister-in-law, who was happy to receive such a delicacy ...

The other items, we love it. Raisins, which my mother put in the cake, walnuts, which I had only seen in Tico and Teco's stories, figs and other dried fruits, nougat, a can of peaches... my God, how delicious... it was the best Christmas, as far as food is concerned, we've had so far...

Today, looking back on all this, I see how happy my childhood was, even though I didn't have a tenth of what we have today. We were happy to see the stars in the sky and hear the night sounds of the forest... well...

We no longer have the singing of Folia de Reis, nor the magic of old Santa Claus... but, deep down in my soul, I still hear the laughter of joy when receiving your first gift from Bom Velhinho, from that happy girl that I once was... not that today I am not happy, but it was a different kind of happiness...

It's 9:10 am on this beautiful and wonderful Sunday, we're currently at 22ºC, with no rain forecast for today. In other words, you can make the most of this spectacular day. Stay with God, and see you tomorrow, if He allows it. Kisses....