Not really. I'm far from a Scrooge-type character when it comes to Christmas. Let's be honest, who doesn't love Christmas? All the lights, the snow (when it actually does in London), all the gatherings and reunions, and of course the chance to listen to Slade again. People always complain about having to listen to the same songs everywhere they go when it's Christmas time, but frankly I'm more than happy to listen to them over Umbrella-ella-ella for 2 months non-stop.
And who could forget all the classic Christmas TV programming: it wouldn't be Christmas without Steve McQueen trying to escape from the Nazis, or James Stewart contemplating death. Judging by the number of times these films have been shown, you'd have thought that everyone in the UK knew them off by heart from beginning to end.
Then we have Christmas dinner, complete with turkey, bacon-wrapped sausages, roast potatoes, brussel sprouts (surely everyone's favourite?) and lots of other stuff too. Plus mince pies, crackers with unbelievably bad jokes inside, mulled wine, and an intricately decorated tree surrounded by lots of presents in the corner.
If this all sounds nostalgic and sentimental, you'll have to forgive me but it's just because it all seems to be missing here in Brazil. Sure, people make a tree and have presents under it, maybe put up a few lights too, but apart from that there isn't much of that Christmas spirit around. We're heading into real clichéd territory here, but having grown up in a place where you'd find all of this festive mood every year, it's feels odd not to be surrounded by it, not even a Brazilian equivalent of it really. The closest thing I saw was a Santa doll outside someone's apartment balcony, sitting on a deck chair with sunglasses and a beer in his hand.
A lot of people will say that Christmas is just a consumerist event, a holiday exploited to make people think they need to buy lots of stuff to give to their families because that's what everybody wants. I'm not denying that at all, that's the aspect of it that's most noticeable here in Brazil. But there's still something about everyone's mood around Christmas that means they all brighten up a bit, despite it being so stupidly cold. In fact, maybe that's the reason; with it being winter, everyone likes to stay inside and celebrate together, that feeling of warmth you're surrounded by, far away from the cold outside. Here, on the other hand, it's boiling and everyone spends all day at the beach just laying about. Perhaps that's why there's no Christmas spirit: everyone's too busy getting a tan.
In any case, I can't help but say I miss all the trimmings that you don't get here; you really don't miss it until it's gone. To end this sappy, cliché-ridden nostalgia-fest, here's a video of my favourite Christmas song, Sleigh Ride by the Ronettes. Ignore the video though, even I thought it was too much. And don't worry, I promise I'll be much more cynical next time to make up for this.
Merry Christmas, everyone!
