Dear Moka Girls High School Staff and Students,

How are you? I hope this diary entry finds you all well. December is coming up soon and I’m already about to explode because of the excitement I feel for the upcoming Christmas season! As the song goes, ‘It’s the most wonderful time of the year’. At least in a Western sense, Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. For me, the time leading up to Christmas on December 25^th, starting on December 1^st is when I am the most happy. Perhaps the one thing I love more than Christmas is actually waiting for Christmas. I love decorating our house and filling it with the spirit of the season. I love going shopping for Christmas presents at the busy shopping malls and shopping streets in Toronto and fighting with other shoppers for the perfect gifts for my friends and family. Finally, I love cooking meals and sweets, such as turkey, ham, cheesecake, and cookies all with a Christmas theme.  

In my family, because we all love Christmas, our celebrations start traditionally on December 1^st when we put up all our Christmas decorations outside and inside the house. Outside the house, we hang multi-coloured lights and put up our Snoopy Christmas decorations that light up at night. On our front door, we hang a big Christmas wreath, which is a ring of green pine branches decorated with shiny Christmas ornaments, bells, and balls. The Christmas wreath is a sign of our welcoming the Christmas season, but also that our house is welcome to all of our guests. Inside the house, we hang red, green, and gold garland and tinsel to make our house festive, light up red coloured candles and play cheerful Christmas music all through the house. The most important part of the Christmas decorations however, is our Christmas Tree. In my house, I was always responsible for decorating and the most important job in decorating was the trimming of the Christmas tree. ‘Trimming’ in this sense does not mean ‘cutting’ but rather ‘decorating’ the tree with pretty Christmas lights and ornaments and last but not least, putting the star up on the top of the tree. When the Christmas tree is light up, the whole house transforms into a Christmas wonderland. It is as if your house becomes something else, something magical and mesmerizing.

Christmas time, although originally intended for the Christian celebration of Jesus’ birth, it is now celebrated, especially in Canada because we are less religious, by Christians and non-Christians alike because it is a time for family. The most important part of Christmas is spending that time with the ones you love. In a way, Christmas is just like Oshougatsu お正月 in Japan. Oshougatsu is about spending time at home with family and eating special types of food. In Canada, Christmas is also about spending time with family and eating special types of food. During shougatsu, Japanese people eat お節料理and for Christmas in Canada, we eat Christmas feasts. Just like how osechi varies between families and places, so too does Christmas feasts. Some people eat Turkey with stuffing, other people eat glazed and roasted ham; some people even eat both! In addition to turkey or ham, families usually also eat mashed potatoes with gravy, chestnut pudding, and fruitcake. In my family, we don’t eat fruitcake but rather I make a Christmas cheesecake for us to share. I would like to thank all the students who taught me about Shougatsu. I hope one day I will be able to experience Shougatsu, but I also hope all of you can experience a Western Christmas, especially a White Christmas – when there is snow outside on Christmas Day. There is no better feeling than being inside a house with your family surrounded by Christmas decorations, music, and a feast of food when it is cold and snowing outside.