Christmas 2013 has come and gone.  Another glorious season of Peace and Good Will…..celebrating the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  To me, Christmas is a special time of the year when “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”  We give because we were given the most important gift that we could possibly receive….the birth of our Savior and of eternal life.  Nothing we give can begin to match this priceless gift.  We give….but all of our gifts are merely symbolic.

This Christmas season was special for me.  I definitely received more than I gave.  I received only two “gifts” this Christmas…..two dozen cookies from my neighbor…..and a coffee mug from Fayez Alruwaili, my special friend from Saudi Arabia.  Each of these gifts were especially meaningful to me, because both of them were given out of a sense of love…..and not out of a sense of obligation or to meet any expectations.  The cookies?  They are long sense devoured.  Only the plastic tray remain.  The coffee mug?  It is sitting on a shelf….where it will remain forever.

 My Christmas season was brightened this year by Fayez, who came to spend the Christmas holiday.  I first met Fayez as a guest who found my name of one of the international hospitality sites that I belong to.  He came and spent last Christmas vacation….the season of 2012…..and ever since, I like to think that my home has been his “home away from home” ever since.

Fayez is from Saudi Arabia…..and of course, he is Muslim  But, this in no way prevented us from enjoying and embracing all the traditions and customs that go with the Christmas Season.  Our first real Christmas experience was attending the program presented by our local elementary school.  Back in the days when I was a classroom teacher, I came to know this Christmas tradition all too well.  And…..I have to admit:  It was not one of my favorite activities.  In fact, it was a pain in the ass….something to be endured….a feeling of relief when it was over.  This could have been the first grade school Christmas program I had attended since I stopped teaching 6th grade back around 1990.  Somehow I just couldn’t summon the proper feeling of nostalgia for the program.  The memories still hadn’t evolved from “something I had to do….to something that I wanted to do”.  But….this year we went.  The program is free, of course……and we certainly got our money’s worth!  The program stretched into a marathon performance, as class after class was herded to the stage so sing their obligatory two songs.  I am not sure exactly what went wrong.  Christmas programs never lasted this long when I was teaching.  But….nevertheless, as I said…..We got our money’s worth.  And, it is a common cultural ritual that schools across the nation go through each year.  And….Fayez got to experience it.

The next actual tradition that Fayez got to witness was the Christmas Eve Service at my church.  It is a beautiful service of lessons and carols, which are performed not only by the congregation, but also by the sanctuary choir and talented soloists.  The service always ends with lighting of candles while the choir and congregation sings Silent Night…..followed by a rousing, joyous rendition of Joy to the World on the church organ.  As we walked out of church, the clock turned to midnight…..Christmas Day.  Before returning home, however, we just couldn’t resist taking a drive down Wanamaker Road….probably the busiest street in Topeka. It is always a treat to see the almost surreal scene that takes place there on each Christmas Eve…….the busiest street in Topeka almost devoid of any traffic.

Christmas morning, after Fayez finally roused himself from his bed and took his four and a half mile Christmas run, we exchanged Christmas gifts….and then prepared to go to Topeka to eat lunch with our friend Sam.  It is becoming sort of a tradition to eat both Thanksgiving and Christmas lunch with Sam at his apartment.  Perhaps the best things about Sam’s meals is that they are not the traditional meals…..the kind you would find in most other households.  They are unique and prepared with great care and attention.  And…..also important…..they are super delicious….and plentiful.  We always leave Sam’s house full and satisfied.

Our next stop was my brothers’ house.  Usually there is a crowd of people there…..their good friends…..buy only passing acquaintances to me.  This year, however; it was just a little more special. Several of my cousins…..second, third and fourth cousins…were there.  Some of them, I had never met before.  It turned out to be a pleasant experience.  After a brief walk at Lake Shawnee, we returned home…..another Christmas Day in the books……history, as they say.

There were other customs, as well.  We put up the two little Christmas trees….our only decorations.  We listened to Christmas carol that I had recorded onto CD’s.  Christmas music is among my very favorite music.  I could listen to it all  year round. Here I am talking about good Christmas music:  Christmas carols and Christmas standards…performed by artists, choirs and orchestras who are worthy of singing them.  I am not talking about the cheap holiday songs that are constantly butchered by untalented artists, seeking only to make a fast buck for capitalizing on the holy season.

For the first time this year, we toured the Winter Wonderland display of lights…..a short but beautiful drive through an elaborate display of lights at Lake Shawnee….and sponsored by TARC for the benefit of its clients.

Aside from the Christmas activities, we had other fun, too. Let’s consider our New Year’s celebration, for example. The New Year, 2014, sort of came in quietly with a soft whimper….but not as much of a whimper as last year.

 Last year…..the New Year of 2013….we were at home. Last year, I had two guests for the long Christmas break. Besides Fayez, there was also a Chinese student staying here for the holiday season. It was snowing outside…..a bona fide snow storm, as a matter of fact. At the last minute, we decided to drive into town and buy a couple bottles of champagne. We slowly made our way through the blowing snow into town…..and to the town’s only liquor store. Luckily enough, there were exactly two bottles of champagne left! And, they were ours! Unluckily, the owner of the liquor store was a former student and runner of mine…..and we had not seen each other for several years. He seemed glad to see me again…..and I spent the next 30 minutes talking to him….while Fayez and my Chinese guest sat in the car…..freezing, I suppose….and wondering where I was.

 Back home, at Midnight, we each poured a glass of champagne and raised our glasses in a toast to the New Year. Almost immediately, our Chinese guest’s face began to turn bright red….and his eyes began to swell shut! I was alarmed…to say the least. What was going on? Would I have to call 9-1-1 and tell them to come pick up a minor….under the age of 21….and take him to the hospital? The Chinese guest….who would turn 21 his next birthday…..told us that he was allergic to alcohol…..and this was what happened when he took a drink. I immediately told him to put down his glass…..and go to bed. I had never seen anybody react to alcohol in this way before….nor have I since.

This year, however, Fayez and I went to my favorite bar in Topeka around 8:00….ate supper….and sat and drank (beer for me….Pepsi for Fayez) until the New Year arrived. We had planned in advance and had each made a list of questions and topics which we could talk about….just in case the conversation started to stall out.

The evening could have been ruined, though. When we first entered the bar, we took a table near the back. Unfortunately, we didn’t know that we had sat down near three rather ill-dressed, ignorant…..and rather loud middle age bums….two men and one woman. I suspect they were residents in some sort of home for the mentally challenged…..although we didn’t ask them.

The first bad sign came when one of the men snapped his fingers at the waitress…..and said something like, “Hey!” The waitress, whom I admired, immediately told the man that he was rude….and that was not the way to get her attention……and that if he wanted her to help him, he could ask in a civilized manner. That more or less set the tone for the rest of the evening. They apparently had $40.00 to spend…..and they spent the rest of the evening quarreling among themselves….sometimes loudly….and drinking beer.

We asked the waitress if we could move to another table. She lost no time agreeing….and even helped us carry our plates and glasses to booth sufficiently removed from the quarrelsome trio. Looking back, I doubt if they even realized how uncouth, unpleasant and disturbing their behavior was. And…..I can also imagine that  perhaps they do not go out in public very often.

Fayez and I sat in our new booth…..and spent the next four hours discussing the questions we had bought with us…..often questions of a controversial nature…..because both of love to argue….or have friendly discussion, as we prefer to call itl. The time passed quickly. Shortly before Midnight, the waitress gave each customer a glass of champagne. Except for poor litle Fayez. He had to drink pop. We watched the super-exciting, drama-filled ball drop….or was it a cow or a pig or something….in Manhattan to ring in the New Year. Of course, we had to count fast….because, let’s face it…..there are no skyscrapers in Manhattan, KS, like there are in Manhattan, New York. Even the tallest barn or silo is really not very tall!

Around 12:30 or 1:00, we left the bar to come back home…..to a New Year. We had a happy beginning to our celebration….and a happy ending…..hopefully setting the mood for the remainder of the year.

And, the quarrelsome trio were still at the bar…..and still had things to quarrel about. Probably setting the tone for their New Year, too.

But….I am happy and thankful that our way is the best way.