Is it really the most wonderful time of the year?

First snow!

The eventfulness of the past 11 months certainly doesn't spare the last month, when things can't get jumpier. Spinning back and forth and there you go, Santa is appearing right out of your porch. It wasn't until in a Physics class a mere two weeks that I realized the holidays were rolling in. My friends and I were discussing how slapping a chicken can technically cook it - and then someone asked about using that method for their Christmas turkey. Already?

Every holiday has its own little quirks - let alone the biggest celebration of the whole year. Especially if you're an introvert like me, once you get out of the snug comforts of your own home, the reality of Christmas starts hitting you real hard. But hey, this season is supposed to be full of joy (at least that's what radio ads say), so I just take the holidays to the fullest. Although I have been here for nearly 3 years, this would be the first Christmas I'll spend in Canada (hooray!). Therefore, there is an air of novelty every time I go around the town. Born in a tropical country and growing up among Western media, I could easily envision a white Christmas with apple-shaded cheek children building snowmen while sipping steaming hot chocolate mugs. When I knew that I was moving to Canada, that vision fantasized me for weeks - before being shattered (well, to be fair, I got to spend a white Christmas Eve in Prince Edward Island back in 2019, but only on the way to the airport for a flight to Vietnam). Here in 2021, Vancouver certainly didn't help to enhance my childhood imagination. I didn't expect to see frantic masses of people blocking checkout lanes, arms laden with processed food with enough oil to flood the whole Walmart, Mariah Carey blasted on every speakerphone and radio station possible, or dogs dressed up in Burberry scarves fumbling in muddy grass. All of these happen among the classic backdrop of Christmas decorations and the endless torrents of rain outside.

But hey, at least the shopping malls are nice, right?

My family doesn't celebrate Christmas, but we still embrace the atmosphere of the holiday. Back in Vietnam, we lived in a predominantly Christian neighborhood that dated back to the 1950s. I grew up with the church bells tolling at 4a.m every day to announce the first service session of the day, elderly ladies primly dressed in white and purple ao dais smiling endearingly, and sweet mangoes from the ancient mango tree in the churchyard gifted from the priest every summer. When Christmas comes, the whole neighborhood was buzzed with festivity. An enormous rendition of the Star of Bethlehem hung from the church brightened the whole neighborhood. Colorful strings of light were draped across the streets, creating a scene more dazzling than every light festival on Earth. Below the streams of light, children dressed to the nines flocked, hands full of cotton candy or iced chocolate topped with any flavor of syrup that you can get for 10,000 VND (around 50 cents). Yet, the spotlight of the season would be the nativity scenes set in front of almost every house in the neighborhood. Representations of the Cave of Bethlehem made from foam or tin foil were elaborately adorned with pine cones, ribbons, and starry lights, all focusing on the figurines of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. The merry sounds of celebrators and ringing bells wouldn't last after midnight - in a district more than 10km away from the city center.

The streets of Saigon clamped with people on Christmas 2021 (the original image can be found here)

A closer look into the celebrations will reveal a touch of tropical air everywhere. The lavish waterfalls beside the caves were full of soap bubbles to imitate the snow, while Santa wore a red T-shirt and rode a scooter across the streets to deliver presents to the children. Whichever coffee shop I went to, iced chocolate would be sold out fastest. Air conditioners would be turned to the maximum to avoid the humid heat enough to melt any cone of ice cream in a flick of a second. Downsides weren't inevitable. The streets after midnight were not layered with snow but trash, and Christmas souvenir scams were not uncommon. No holiday break would be given as Christmas isn't an official holiday in Vietnam - and don't even get me started on the end-of-semester exams at school. However, it is this uniqueness of a Christmas in the tropics - the very oxymoron lies in the settings - that I cherish to the core. Sure, there are no blankets of snow, fireplace logs softly cracking, or the tranquility of a supposedly restful winter break. We have joy and love, and that's all we need. In a country where the vast majority of the population isn't Christian, Christmas is heartily enjoyed by everyone, regardless of their beliefs. After all, where in the world would you see Santa delivering cupcakes to every child in the neighborhood for nearly 15 years?

When red doesn't only mean Christmas: I was on the streets celebrating the championship of the Vietnamese National Soccer Team on Boxing Day 2019. The team is trying its best to repeat history this year.

A flash in time, and I'm sitting here in an overly heated room typing these reminiscent words. The snow has stopped for nearly an hour, leaving behind traces of slush on patches of still-green grass outside (all hail to Vancouver weather!). This Christmas certainly wouldn't be a rocking time, with the Omicron variant roaming and countless restrictions again imposed. At the beginning of December, everyone was talking about how wonderful their holidays would be with trips to Mexico and chalets at Whistler. I was so caught in the excitement to the point of considered busing to Grouse Mountain, though having already planned to have a lazy break binging old TV shows at home. Now, with the raging pandemic, everyone is in the same boat again - the weather is too unpredictable to get out anyway. Being true to myself, I guess I just can't resist the cozy couch and Mom's candied ginger rather than being stuck in traffic jams on the way to some holiday destination.