1 MY 1st Christmas in Europe...My first 2 winters in Holland where the two last seasons in history of the " Elfstedentocht" That is like a marathon skating through eleven city's in the north of Holand on nature ice.........
So you could imagine that it was freezing cold especially as an child from the tropics.........
For me i spend Christmas with a family wiith 3 sons and the mother was Dutch and the father from my birthcountry Surinam
It was only laughing,eating,sleeping and presents.......NOTHING about Christ........
I missed my granny's the most.the warm weather and the christmaseve service.........
2 " My home is my castle"When i had my own space in the "big city" of Amsterdam not anymore in a student flat but a one room appartment
I decorated it ...looked for a verry small tree and made my own x-mas home. Nobody understand why i wanted to be in my own home by myself etc.......
Around that time i was verry active in the youth group and choir of the Moravian Church Amsterdam so i loved to have x-mas with my church youth family. I remembered my niece who came to visit me with her newbornbaby my " Godchild" ( i don't know if this is the good eng. word ).I made a beautifull picture with her beside and not under " My tree" LOL I wished i could put that picture on here, I remember it untill today so vividly that i got x-mas visitors and this year it was 18 years ago bc the baby turned 18 last october
3 The 1st christmas with my own baby under the tree My baby girl Ife who turned 10 last month...was that baby ten years ago.....
And it was a verry special x-mas my parents came over so it was my 1st x-mas with them in Holland and now not only as their daughter but as a wife and mum......
We had the 2nd day of the new year after that x-mas a big "baby welcoming celebration" that is a celebration that is held esp for your 1st child in my husbands culture. He is from Nigeria......
When i digitalize all my pictures oneday and i'm still blogging i will make a blog about it.......
I discovered around that time more about my dh's background and how family and social relationships are build up and sustained in the African culture....Relatives and friends came from over the border for this celebration.........
4 Xmas in Surinam This happened two times since i came to Holland in 1985.Both not planned but due to circumstances unexpectedly going to the Lord of my grandfather of 80th years i believe 13 years ago and In 2004 of my great-aunt( grandmothers sister) who raised my mum.
I put them both as one memory bc of what strucked me both times is rally of the community and family in times of sorrow to help with organizing the funeral and the evenings of singing with the family and bringing of food and drink in those evenings.
There was no sadness but celebration of life and the hope knowing of meeting again!
The experience of this made me appreciate this of my "roots" culture so to say....
I saw so opposite in western society ...........also with younger generations from my country who grow up in Holland.......
The x-mases after was special bc we celebrated Christ birth through who we have hope after dead who we experience more closer in times of sorrow and THE LOVE He shed in our hearts we could feel it between us as a family.
My grandmother was so strong after my grandfathers death and gave such a testimony of Christ in her life who will help her through........
My aunties funeral was a celebration of a life of 90th years well spend in Service for the community as an optricien and farmecist and establishing the SOS children village and an Old-age house as an honour to her mother who had it as a dream.
She never married but had a lot of children as she said.....
Her faith in The Lord was also strong and she played organ every sunday in church........
I'm so proud that i got examples of verry strong blackwoman who served the Lord with their talents and who where blessed with long life..
I think the last tree memories will have links with my two grannys also and an 3th who still is a life and who will be God willing 90th years coming years. She was like a nanny who grew up with my grandmother and great-aunt....
She came in their house to have a better life in the city than with her parents and helped the mother of the house ........
She stayed and as she said "She pledged to the mother of the house " to take care of my great-aunt who only wanted to study and travel the world and serving community..........Her mother worried who would take care of her...........
5 X-mas memories with "Nene Dina" as i called her.....
She nursed me often and filled in the gaps when my mother was verry bussy ( she took after my great-aunt Es only got married with my dad)
Ne ne Dina had a listening ear to me and learned me how and when to fold my hands and why...........How a lady must behave ,what to wear to church etc.......
So X-MASS EVE as i can recall i went ALWAYS with her........
My parents where no church goers....Sundays i was always picked up by my great-aunt and this lady ( Yes she was driving a car.......She was the 1st black woman in Surinam with a car...)
We both where dressed in white and the only decoration could be red ribbons in my braids LOL
Singing all those Christmas carols and the hide was that everyone get a candle and the lights went out while singing the song " Morgenster na donkre nacht" ( transl. Morningstar after darknight)
After the service we wished eachother Merry X-mas and walked to my great-aunts house above the farmacy in the middle of the town.......
That evening i think now was the free( from work) evening bc the house was made ready for all the nieces and nephews and other kids to come over and than was an children x-mas celebration hold..
Trees, presents a mistletoe..Aunty Es played organ and we sang or play a x-mas play....drinks and food ( all brought by family....and friends or what she got from business relations....)
6 Christmas preperations to give to othersWeeks maybe months before this great-aunt Es and now also my Grand-mother plan to make presents for lonely people at home......And to sell as fundraising to buy presents for kids who mostly don't get presents..
Also the parts to make the christmas decorations and or presents came frequently from friends from abroad who my aunty asked to fundraise....
I remember boxes with pine tree apples...,Ribbons., Spomge to stick the greenery and candles in
I wrap a lot of white candles with red ribbons.And made table decorations with candles and greenery.
Christmascards where made diffeent styles...
My grandmother love to do embroderie so table clothes where made.......
At last a christmas market could be held in front of my aunties pharmacy.....
And i bake together with nene Dina christmas cookies also to sell all for fundraising.....
7 My last Christmas with my grandmother and her Youngest sister ( aunty Agnes)This was in 2004 the x-mas after Aunty Es funeral a week befor x-mas.
My grandmother was housebound and her younger sister lived already that time in the Oldage House what was established in honour for their mother...
My mother told me an x-mas service was held for the elderly i think it was 20 or 23th of december....
I planned to celebrate this evening with this aunthy who was a little bit cut out of contact with family bc of her living in this old-age house...she also never married and had no children and she was a little bit the spoiled babysister. As i understand she had some learning disabilities but this aunthy was the "street wisist" so to say........
My grandmother was the only one of the 3 sister who married
Anyway i said i want to bring my grandmother to celebrate x-mas with her sister bc only the two where left over from a family of 8..........
I convinced my granny and used my skills to lift her up,putting her in the car and hired a wheelchair......
people in the old-age house where so happy to see her ( bc some she knew... before) Her sister was so happy and all of us.
We made an 4 generation picture( Granny-mum- me and my dd Ife) under the picture of my great-grandmother so in fact it was 5 generation....
The service was awesome and made more special bc electrivity went out and the whole service was by candlelight....
little did we know that this would be the last Christmas for those two sister. In May aunty Agnes went to the Lord and my grand-mother went 16 of november just the same date as her DH years before. We where all surprised but i knew in my heart God knew all and planned all details
This x-mas was for me an beautifull fare-well memorie of them both. I felt at peace with this memorie like God combined the oppurtunity to make this memorie with them and to say goodby like that in the flesh instead of going to their burial as closer of their life.
With my great-aunt was different she asked me if i could come on her 90th birthday..i said it wasn't possible due to school holidays so i told her i book for december and she said oke and died just a week before my booked day....
In all those memories i can say .......God is so Good and i'm thankfull, he gave me all those memories........
Christmas blessings to all of you!
Romans 12!