Habari, my dear Bashir? Please forgive me and samahani for my delay in sending you this email!
I am glad to know you visited Hilda and to hear she enjoyed my reply to her very, very lovely Christmas card! It will be exciting to hear your Exam results next week, because I know you will have great success.
Now, here is some more about Christmas, as I promised. When Christopher and Douglas were very small, they believed in Santa Claus. Do you know "Santa Claus"? The story is, he is a magical and jolly man who brings gifts to children on Christmas. So this story fascinated my boys when they were little, and they had much excitement in wondering what "Santa Claus" would bring them as gifts. Of course, Christmas is also the celebration of the birth of Jesus, so as a family we enjoyed many church activities at Christmastime, including worship times and the singing of "Christmas carols." A "carol" is another word for "song." Then we had the big feast of turkey, stuffing, and Christmas cookies or pie and ice cream!
Now that Christopher and Douglas are all grown up, they know that Santa Claus is just a story for children. We still go to church on Christmas Eve (the night before Christmas), and enjoy lots of singing and Christmas music during the season of Christmas. And of course, we have the big feast on Christmas Day, and this year we will set the special place at the table for our dear Bashir!
Another tradition is the sending of Christmas cards! I send cards every December to about 50 friends and family members. Many of them send us cards, too, Sometimes the cards have religious artwork, or a winter scene with snow and pine trees, and sometimes they have photos. When your laptop arrives, you will find this year's Christmas card with photos on it!
My darling niece Ava is 10 years old and she already knows that Santa is just a story to entertain young children. I miss my darling Ava terribly at Christmas, and always, just as I miss my sister Sarah (Ava's mother), because they live in Boston, about 700 miles away (1,125 kilometers). I wish we could all be together!! But I keep Ava, Sarah, and you all very close in my heart.
At Christmas, Ava likes to visit her grandparents who live on a farm. Her grandparents have lots of little dogs, and Ava LOVES them!! She wishes for a dog of her own, but instead she likes to play with the dogs on the farm at Christmastime. She likes to see her cousins, who also go to the farm. They eat a big Christmas dinner, too, but Ava is such a little girl, she hardly eats anything!! But she always likes to have some pie. For Christmas, I send her a bit of money to go shopping and buy her favorite clothes.
At Christmas, Mr. Jimmy and I drive to Columbus, Ohio, about 100 miles (125 km) to visit an elderly lady from my family, Mama Ellen. She lives alone and her children are far away. She is lots of fun to visit! She laughs loud and tells wild stories! She also reads interesting books about shocking subjects like mystery and murder, and tells us the shocking tales. Also, Ellen always has fix-it projects for Mr. Jimmy, such as a broken lamp, or right now she has a burn on her rug from a cigarette ash (she also smokes cigarettes!). So Mr. Jimmy will help her by fixing the rug somehow. We will bring her some Christmas gifts of chocolate candy, slippers, and a warm shawl in a lovely color of red.
This week, Mr. Jimmy and I have been putting up our Christmas tree! It is a small tree inside the house on which we hang pretty ornaments and lights. We have two cats, and they think the Christmas tree should be for them to climb! We have to remind them, "No!" or they will climb it and knock it down!
So you can see that Christmas can be very exciting for us! I hope it's fun for you to unwrap your Christmas gifts when that package reaches you in Dar Es Salaam.
Does your family have the Islamic faith or the Christian faith, or another faith? I remember you have mentioned some Islamic holidays in Dar Es Salaam. One of my favorite things about Dar Es Salaam is how all the people live in peace and respect each other's different faith. That is so important for peace in the world.
GOD BLESS YOU!
Yours faithfully,
Nicole
No comments:
Post a Comment