Happy New Year!

Christmas came, Christmas went. 

When Christmas happens to be on a weekend (as it was this year), one always feels a bit cheated. It would be so much nicer to have the Christmas mid-week, to have some extra days off, to take it easy. 

But this year's experience has made me change my mind. Apparently, in Ekebyholm church they have had a tradition that when Christmas Eve happens to be on a Saturday, instead of the regular church service at 11.30, the congregation gathers at 8 o'clock in the morning. I was a little bit sceptical about it, especially when S. said he would be responsible for streaming the early church service and set his alarm clock to 6.20. Eww! But when we set up the cameras early in the morning, barely awake, and the church members started to gather, it felt very special and very different. The service itself was special, too, as we could read through the whole story of Jesus' birth from the Gospels, and sing a lot of Christmas songs in between. The church hall was barely lit so we saw the first rays of light from the horizon and could witness a magical sunrise. After the church service ended, everyone was treated to my father-in-law's Christmas porridge - the traditional rice porridge with sugar and cinnamon. It was barely 10 o'clock when the church was over and we parted with many Merry Christmases and hugs and good wishes. 

Later that day I wanted to know when is the next time we have Christmas Eve on Saturday. I am very much looking forward to it!

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Two days after Christmas Eve we flew to Estonia. I suppose I was attempting to celebrate Christmas almost simultaneously in two places. [Note to self - it doesn't work.] We crammed into 3,5 days as many things as we could - family, relatives, friends, hairdressers and dentists. There were many happy meetings but I also felt very tired. J. said this morning something about planning one's trips to be porous - to have little pockets of unplanned time in them. This is something I will remember the next time.

Now we are back home and ready to welcome the new year. The welcome party will be very modest though. S. brought from our trip an unexpected gift - a virus with high fever and bad cough. So we will ring in the new year with paracetamol and tea (instead of a wedding cake and bubbly drink, as planned). But be as it may, we are still happy and grateful for this amazing year. We have been married almost half of that year, and it feels wonderful! 

So with gratitude and joy, we look back and look ahead and wish all of you a very happy new year! May it be filled with joy and peace and blessings from the Almighty.