Celebrating Christmas with the Family

I am back! I am back in Boise for the holidays to relax and spend time with family and friends! My first semester back at Trinity was rough and outside of work, classes and other commitments, I was writing essays and wondering why I seemed to be drowning in work every week. Despite everything, I am proud to say that I survived and am looking forward to my last semester.

After everything that’s happened this semester, it’s good to be home for a number of reasons. Being home never gets old and having the time to visit with my family and extended family has allowed me the chance to see the growth that’s taken place since I left. It’s so funny realizing that my youngest sister is growing up and she’s the same age I was when I came to America. At church, I get to see the kids I babysat or helped with in the nursery.  Some of them don’t remember me, but I clearly remember those days of playing house and other games to make them stop crying. Being home means listening/playing/hearing Christmas carols, discovering new songs and enjoying old favorites.

My favorite part of Christmas is attending the Christmas Eve service at my church. Every year, we attend the service led by the youth. Once upon a time, my friends and I were in charge of the service and we served as ushers, musicians, acolytes and anything else that needed a role. Now that I attend this service, as a participant and not a leader, I am proud of the work that the youth do in creating a memorable experience and telling the Christmas story. I was reminded of the Christmas Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, which is a tradition in the Anglican Church. At Trinity, it takes place the first Sunday in December. I served as an acolyte my freshman year and had difficulties lighting the candles because of my height. My sophomore year, I was the thurifer and got to carry the censer. Finally, in my last year, I was a reader and I was responsible for announcing to the entire crowd the Christmas story. Like the youth at my church, I had to slow down my reading speed and make sure that I was pronouncing the words properly. I hope the youth on Wednesday realized how important what they were doing was and what impact it had on those attending the service to hear the Christmas story.

Happy Holidays!

Photo: Christmas Market in Paris