SANTA STOLE MY LOVE

&& I won’t be home for Christmas

6 more weeks till 2017 would you believe? Time flies ever in a millisecond. So much to do, yet always so little time. As we draw near to the end of an apocalyptical year that is 2016, it’s time to breath out that cold shivered air and look forward to at least one good thing.

Weinachtskekse

Temperatures may have dropped, the parkas are back in style, but admittedly, Christmas season in Switzerland is one of my favorite time of the year. Because for people like me who find themselves uprooted for long periods of time, miles away from home, you find a certain level of solace in the juxtaposition of warmth in the coldest time of the year.

My favorite time in particular, is when the city flicks that switch on Banhofstrasse and the entire street comes to life in beautiful lights, shining the spirit of Christmas as you take romantic walks through the evening. An official statement that the season has begun. It also reminds me of the Christmas lights that would adorn the coconut trees like a tunnel, as I’d drive through the night home from school back in the Asian tropics.

Baby, don’t be such a Grinch

Then there are the many stalls of Christmas markets, the fondue of Frau Gerolds Garden, the gatherings, the smell of cinnamon sticks, the touch of the first snow flakes, working out like a pro class skier on the alpine slopes of Hoch Ybrig and Flumserberg, the cuddled cozyness of a fireplace, the baking of weinachtskekse, the panettone, the Christmas pub crawls, the struggle on deciding whether we should go for a real or fake tree, because what’s more efficient? The jingles, the cards, the ribbons, and all that cheesy crap we love to hate but won’t admit that really, we actually love that shit. Just a little.

Crack the nut Mr. Nutcracker

And like so many other great European cities, the beauty of living in a little multi-cultural wonderland bubble like Zurich is that you get to experience Christmas traditions in varying shapes and forms. Except in this scenario, because it is Christmas, and Christmas is an ultimate symbolism for happier times, differences are actually set aside. For a moment, we acknowledge the universal truth that it is love that brings people together in the age and face of adversities.

Because down to the core, very simply, and at it’s best, for anyone who loves this time of year as much as I do, Christmas season gives us insight into the world at large and the diversity of people and of life itself.