Love Actually has always been my favorite movie to watch during Christmas time. Every time I watch that movie, I feel festive and hopeful that love actually is everywhere. But this hope turned into belief this Christmas eve when I was welcomed into a marvelous American family to be part of their festivities.
It all started around 3.30 pm when my friends, Alli and Dylan, took me to my first Christmas service ever. The moment I stepped into Woodcreek Church , I was blown away by the lovely ambiance of the place. The sight of the softly-lit stage, colorful church decor, and a talented dancer performing to the soothing sound of violin music got me engrossed right way. Then, everybody stood up and sang songs of joy and prayer, praising the Lord. I did not know any of the songs but thanks to the words put up on the big screen, I was able to follow. With every passing minute, I could feel the gratitude, joy and faith of people in the room. The energy was unbelievable! The service ended with a majestic scene where everybody lit candles and held them up singing a couple of Christmas songs. When I left the church, I thought my heart couldn’t be any fuller. I was wrong, of course, as a magical evening awaited me at the Johnson’s.
For Christmas Eve dinner, Alli and Dylan invited me to their grandparents’ house. I instantly felt the warmth of Omi and Opa (“Grandmother” and “Grandfather” in German as Omi is from Germany) when I met them briefly at the church. I had already seen the neighborhood where Omi and Opa lived when Dylan drove me there to check out the Christmas lights. That was another great evening as Binny, Alli, Dylan and I witnessed some really cool and creative Christmas lighting and decorations. It gave me a sense of how excited people are for the festival and how they gear up for it.
When I entered Omi and Opa’s place, I was impressed by the elegant and thoughtful Christmas lights and decorations inside. I was inside one of the most beautiful houses I had ever seen. The Christmas tree by the fireplace looked amazing with all the presents and the lights. It was just like I had seen in the movies! I complemented them both but as Opa said, it was all Omi’s efforts that made the house look the way it did.
Then, the other family members started coming in and as the evening progressed, I had the pleasure of indulging into some wonderful conversations with all of them. Our conversations ranged from Mumbai and Texas to raccoons and hamsters, from cricket and football to Bollywood and Hollywood, from wine and spices to call centres and desalination. It was great to hear from Opa about some interesting people and times of his life. I was glad that I could narrate some of my own experiences from back home. It was particularly funny when Opa was trying to figure out which sauce I find the most spicy while we were snacking on the chips. During all this, Omi was busy with the cooking, while still listening to our stories and weighing in every once in a while. Her radiant smile, hearty laughter, gorgeous hair, soothing voice (and may I add – stylish jeans) will always stay with me.
The dinner table was set in no time and we continued our discussions as we treated ourselves to a delicious Christmas meal. As I sat there between these wonderful people, eating my salmon amidst the laughter and engaging discussions, I felt grateful to be part of this family’s Christmas eve celebration. The meal was followed by another lovely tradition of sitting by the Christmas tree and opening all the presents. Young Liam played the elf who dug into the pile of presents and distributed them one by one to everyone.
I was delighted to receive so many presents when I had not expected any. Alli and Dylan really went out of their way to make me feel like one of them. DJ’s humor and Heidi’s warmth too made me feel like I was not an outsider and was truly welcome in their house. But my heart melted down when after clicking some pictures, Omi told me – “Send these to your parents and tell them that this is your American family”. She gifted me The Holy Bible and said that she thought that God sent me there at that point. That was quite a touching moment for me. I felt like it would be nice to start reading the text right there in the presence of the family. Alli pointed me to a section on the birth of Jesus Christ that I read out loud before we moved on to the rest of the presents.
As my heart filled up with all that was happening around me, I had an interesting thought which I shared with the family. I have struggled with my own faith in a creator or God for quite a few years now. But during this remarkable Christmas eve night filled with the warmth, love and affection that everyone showed towards me, I couldn’t help but wonder – if people who have faith are like this, perhaps it is something worth pursuing.
Merry Christmas, y’all!