As much as I love Christmas I feel no need to stick to the protocol with same procedure every year, and I rather dread having to eat the exact same Christmas lunch twice which can be the case if parents are divorced, you celebrate Christmas both with your family and that of your partner or several other reasons. A few years ago I forced a new tradition on my family; themed Christmases.
The idea is not celebrate Christmas like another culture but rather be inspired by colours,scents,tastes and phenomena. Mix that up with our Swedish traditions and it ends up being Christmas with a twist. And luckily my family is rather liberal in that way.
Obviously the idea came from having spent Christmases abroad and making do with what was available, and those years were all the more memorable. That has been a positive side effect of this; we don’t know which Christmas was which year, but we do remember “The Japanese Christmas” with cocktail sausages baked in soya,ginger and sesame seeds, the salmon main course, the minimalist table setting. And the year we did a “Spanish” thing with tapas; who can forget my dad feeding the cat Pata negra? We still talk about the Tiramisu made with mascarpone,soft gingerbread cake and lingonberries from the year we went Italian. This year the turn has come to Greece.
I’ve spent a fair bit of time in Greece, when I was younger, and I’ve had a few knick knacks from then that I’ve saved(true story; they were forgotten at the cottage for years and when found last year I held on to them for this purpose) and will turn into ornaments for the tree or maybe I’ll put them on the table; these little houses are rather darling actually. I think I had a village at some point.
I had planned going with a blue and white theme but it’s turning out to be more turquoise and white with a dash of red. I don’t mind; I have a fair few turquoise items because I love it. Putting hyacinth in a Savoy Vase from Ittala was something I saw in a magazine, they did it with paper whites in a clear vase but I thought this looked fresh. These pompoms that I made last year, that I’ve forgotten what I was gonna do with, fits the theme and will also become ornaments for the tree. A quick and easy idea that can be adopted to any theme; just google how to make them.
Now I just have to plan the menu…
-Suss
Artfulreader 
A themed Christmas sounds like a great idea. I’ve only experienced two kinds: American and Jamaican.
It’s a nice way to mix it up; the same but different. My family has come to appreciate it a lot.
Sounds like it. I don’t think my family knows enough about other cultures to try anything different but those two.
We don’t either I guess, but we read up on stuff, do our research. Part of the fun really.
I don’t think my family is as adventurous haha. If anything I’d love to try a Mediterranean Christmas. Have you done that before?
We did italian one year. And now we are doing grec-influenced Christmas. Slowly working our way around. We might have to go crazy and do “indian” next year. Or maybe Jamaican? Meatballs with Jerk spice? Mulled wine with loads if rum? It’s a concept to be creative with.
Haha. Indian might actually be doable for us. We have Indians in the family (my grandmother) and Indian culture does affect overall Caribbean culture a great deal. Caribbean people are actually called West Indians, but I doubt many people know that.
And yes, go for the Jamaican Christmas. Good luck with that though lol. It’s actually a local drink called sorrell with lots of rum, fruit cake, rice and peas, cooked meats, steamed seafood, coleslaw, and maybe some mac n cheese 🙂
Sounds like you had loads of adventures celebrating Christmas while you were in different countries. Torquoise is a lovely colour. I hope you and your family enjoy it. Looking forward to the menu. Yum! Yum!
Every Christmas is an adventure I guess; but this way we have something to talk about that isn’t politics.
Suss, could you consider doing a series of blog posts of the countries you have lived in/spent considerable amount time in? Maybe tie it up putting down your favourite influences from those or how they changed you. I would be really interesting, I think. I have lived all my life in Estonia, apart from a 6 month period in the UK during my studies. I am getting the feeling that I am “getting” the positive things from living here just now, the memories have accumulated and I have learned to enjoy lots of things that I used to take for granted (the untouched nature, how seasons change and long term friends).
Well thank you that’s a good idea;will take it under consideration.