Getting Ready for Christmas

In America the parking lots are already crowded with bustling shoppers. Traffic jams are increased with the pre-holiday traffic. But we're not in the good ol' USA anymore.

Sometimes I think that we could almost be in a Scrooge's paradise when it comes to shopping. No Christmas lights--that wastes electricity to put them up this early. No shopping crowds--gifts are a minimum. Christmas decorations are visible only in the places trying to sell them. And occasionally you'll meet a clerk as grumpy as Scrooge himself!!

What we did find were Hanukkah lights . . . one pole resembling a Menorah and four cars parked with smaller Menorahs on top of them. What we do see in the stores are lots of little Cinderella-type dresses for small girls and costumes for children, men and women alike for the New Year's party.

Most of our friends in America are in the middle of getting ready for Christmas programs. . . if not already having them.

Uh-h-h, we're running behind the times. Christmas is celebrated either on the December 25th, more rarely and January 7th from the Orthodox calendar. Because most people celebrate it on the seventh, we prepare our program for then. AND because some of our content has to be translated . . . we're just getting started. Katrina wrote a play called "The Apprentice Magi."

I translated it orally while Tanya, who made top grades in school years ago, wrote it down properly. I'm typing it in and returning it for proof-reading. Then we add some poems, songs, lots of practice and prayer and we'll have a Christmas program.

Our house does look "Christmas-y". One day that I spent mainly translating, Allona, Vova and Seth decorated most of our house. Allona and Vova keep asking, "What are you getting for this person?! When will we open our presents? Can we do something more NOW?!" They had already bought most of their gifts before the beginning of December. This is Allona's bedroom door.