Pic Credit | Ievgenii Meyer via Shutterstock
I love December. Don’t you? The nip in the air becomes just a bit more pronounced. The entire world is in a holiday mood. Relief at the nearing end of the year, if it was bad. A feeling of accomplishment, if it was good. The excitement of recalibrating life’s scales. And, of course, Christmas, New Year and holidays. Christmas Memories and winter vacations. What’s not to like, right?
December was always special at home while growing up. The end of final exams coupled with the three-month-long winter vacations in the Shillong winter, that was December for us, the much anticipated time of the year. Even today I get goosebumps thinking of those days.
Shillong in December is a setting out of a fairytale.
We would spend the time watching television, reading, having freshly plucked oranges from the tree while sitting with our backs turned to the winter sun. It was the time when we could apply nail polish as well since schools were closed. Small pleasures, you know. It seems silly now but not really. Then there was the buzz of the festive season. It was nothing short of perfect, I tell you.
Shillong in December
Shillong transformed into a setting out of a fairytale during those months. The greens and reds are all around. How deeply etched those are in my heart. At nights you could hear groups practising Christmas Carols. There would be bonfires and picnics. Oh! the bonfires and the songs reverberating in the atmosphere. If you listened carefully you could hear the Carols being sung far away in the middle of those wintry nights. Ah, the Christmas Memories!
Then the whole town had this whiff of vanilla, cocoa and all things cakes. Nothing short of endorphins, I say. The churches stood majestically adding to the town’s heady charm. Everything was like a painting by one of the greatest artists ever. How can I possibly explain to you how my Shillong was in winters? In fact, is during winters. It was like a dream. It is like a dream.
I remember attending some Christmas parties with Dad. As a kid, I was spoilt for choice when it came to cakes at those gatherings. If I close my eyes, I can still trace the scent of icing sugar, cocoa and vanilla in the air. That’s what this season does to me.
How I miss all that now. I feel like time has sucked all those little nuggets of joy into a vacuum. I wonder if M would have such memories to fall back on. Well, I hope she does. I really hope she does.
Tell me, what are some of your Christmas Memories of December and this festive season.
Even for me, December is the most anticipated month of the year – for vacation, snow and gifts
Even for me, this month is the most anticipated month of the year for vacations, snow and gifts
December is special this year as my elder one is grown up enough to enjoy everything x-mas 🙂 You are blessed to have spent so many x-mas in Shillong. Would love to visit this place sometime in life..
Naba….You have so beautifully PAINTED the scene in words….I can see you unwind as you apply that first coat of nail polish with a glint in your eyes….I can feel the whiff of cakes in the air, and I can hear the Carols with you in the middle of the nights….I really hope that your little one grows up with beautiful memories like these….In these fast-paced world, they seem to be disappearing…..Wish you a very Merry Christmas and A very Happy New Year….!
Ah having heard of the legendary music from Shillong, I can only image how lovely it must be at Christmas, Naba.
For me too, Christmas meant family, music and food and lots of craziness.
My memories are apartment buildings in New York City, lit up with lights, a Christmas tree on a rooftop, and, the trip into Manhattan, looking at magical storefronts coming alive. The smell of chestnuts roasting from street vendors. Snow and slush. Christmas carols. Hot chocolate.
December has mostly been a beautiful, happy month for me. This year too it was good. Back in childhood, I used to look forward to the long vacation during christmas and we used to make a visit to our native place to spend a few days there. Such fun I uesed to have back then. But now, I don’t have holidays as I work in a hospital and that is one thing I miss the most.
Lovely post, Nabanita – filled with warm memories! I grew up in Kohima, and can recall the beauty of the season, the red stars that adorned every house and the twinkling lights at night. The church choir resounded with music every evening and our neighbour used to play Jim Reeves all the time. Christmas makes me very nostalgic …and I almost always fall back on cherished memories every time I hear those lovely carols. Happy Christmas and a very Happy New Year to you and your family, once more. Stay blessed
Lovely post..u made me feel the festive mood during december and ur narration has stirred a desire to visit shillong.
Hi Naba! I often reflect on how it’s the small luxuries and the little things that end up bringing the most contentment. I love your description of the freshly plucked oranges, your back turned to the winter sun, and applying nail polish! I could just see all of that in my mind. I just love being able to spend time with friends and family at Christmas. Our family is small, and I have a tight knit group of really close friends, so it’s not a big overwhelming experience, but a quieter reflective one. I also don’t mind if I end up spending time alone on Christmas Day to just ‘be’ and digest the year that’s been. Merry Christmas! x
Shillong is always one place I can never get enough of. I love to travel in winter. This year we are however staying home engaging guest here! though this seems fun, I do miss the travel.
Oh wow…that sounds amazing! And I can’t believe it’s in the same country…in Bombay, we barely got 10 days off in winter and always had exams in Jan. Our finals were in March-April! I’d have preferred to live in Shillong!
Oh, you took me to anther world, Naba. My childhood Christmas was nothing. We got 10 days holidays after the Christmas exam, that’s it. There were no presents, no winter, no nothing. Christmas and winter are special for me now. After reading your post I want to visit Shillong in winter. 🙂
Such a lovely post! It creates beautiful imagery. Feel like going there. And, don’t worry; with loving and caring parents, she would have lovely memories! 🙂
Thanks for sharing these magical memories of your childhood Decembers . My December too has similar memories but in Pune which still had an Anglo Indian population. I remember visiting friends over Christmas and drinking hot chocolate which I preferred to Christmas cake!