MY holiday

Okay, I realize it’s probably the wrong attitude to have at Christmas, but it’s there.  I am happy living in Turkey for many reasons, and I rarely get homesick – that’s just how I was made.   But Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter holidays have become important for me to celebrate  - to eat American foods, to do American things, and to celebrate a really big part of me: family, faith, and tradition. 

It is the same I suppose for Turks – Bayram is a big part of Turkish culture – a time for family, faith, and tradition. 

But, there is a lot of confusion here about the New Year Holiday.  Turkey has absorbed a lot of the commercialism of Christmas: lights, trees, decorations, and even Santa Clause.  Turks like to remind me that Santa Clause was born (or died) in Turkey.  I can even go visit his home if I want.  And when I come back from celebrating my one day off – to have Christmas – I tell me students that I was celebrating Christmas, they tell me “No teacher!  It’s not Christmas!” because so many have been conditioned to understand the tree and lights and Santa to mean New Year’s . . . and Americans just call it Christmas instead of New Year’s.   They truly have no idea the significance of the celebration . . . and I suppose it shouldn’t be surprising considering all the fluff and jazz created that has been so far removed from the meaning and intention of Christmas.

So I know all this in my head, but it still doesn’t stop me from reducing myself to retorting, “This is MY holiday.  Not yours.  Santa Clause was NOT born and did not die in Turkey because Santa Clause is currently living in the North Pole!”

So here's a picture below - it was our private holiday, our small family, and our new traditions - and this is what I cling too.

It was really hard to work around my big belly!