Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Christmas Memories by a Moslem Girl......

It was always before Christmas that we got that  thrill.We 'moslem' girls at the boarding section were always part of the joy, part of the glow that overtook everyone's hearts there and then. We were also  part of the anual celebration that turned over all the despotic  rules and  dicipline , and deleted the conventional "hush hush" attitude of all the nuns, teachers and  all those in charge of harnessing our wild spirits . It was only during Christmas celebrations  that we were all within  the "safe zone"!



For ten years  I,  among others  ,have been a  part of this -almost the same- celebration.Singing the same songs, pretending astonished when Santa appeared , expressing  facination over the Christmas tree decorations ,(we happened to be the ones who decorated it , this being part of our chores related to  pre-Christmas preperations). But  I  loved it every year just as much . Maybe now is the time to remember those moments of happiness, to speak of those who gave me the chance to be part of their rituals, jubilations and even  their lives.



Talking about a boarding school in Palestine in those days , is like recalling the details of  a movie back from the sixties or  seventies.It was something like a dream.Preparations would start months before the Big Day,the 24th of December, the time for our Grand school celebration.We would practice Christmas carrols, in all three languages.I n English there was :"Silent Night", "OH Christmas Tree","Joyfull Joyfull".In Arabic it was "Lailet  3eid",and in German it was "OH Tannen Baum" and "Lustig Lustig".........



It was not a bit out of the normal  , for a moslem girl to be playing  the role of an angel, or Virgin Mary or  even a sheep  .It was the season  when we  were  all treated to chocolate, lots of good chocolate,sent to our Sisters(nuns) from their families back home  in Germany.At night , they shared with us their tea--with all the colors and flavours of German  fruits and herbs like cherry, oranges, cinamon, just to mention a couple.We were their families then ,we ,the young moslem girls from  Gaza and some Arab Countries were their only Christmas  company, and them the lonely German nuns serving God and us endlessly .Together we sat around  a beautifully lit tree , in our small playroom, shivering and almost hugging  the  gasoline stove,with the aroma of roasted orange peels filling  the air( our boarding school Sister used to put orange rind  in a clean metal  lid of' Kiwi' *shoe polish and leave it to roast on top  of the stove...and....voila....homemade scents!).



Eversince then, the Christmas spirit has captured  me.It  even haunts me untill this very day, echoeing  my nostalgic yearning to those long bygone times .It persistantly triggers memories  of those people who have left this world to be with God , He whom they chose to serve throughout their youth untill the very last moments of their lives.I still see the shimering lights of that huge tree, and see us(kids then)running loose out of our classes to join the singing chorus of mischievous girls chanting  that song

                         ......come my comrades join the chorus
                         ......Fa  la la la la, la la la la
                               happy hour are(...)**   before us
                               Fa la la la la , la la la la ......



And today  Christmas  comes again...We are not the kids that once were . So many dreams were lost on our  way towards  growing up, and I  really miss my typical back then annual celebration, my German Sisters and the colorful  aromatic tea blends  .As empty as the days seem to be without those colorful details,I stick to those  memories, retrieve the faces, the words ...and hope for a differnt Christmas.., not that  of colors, hyms and gifts...but that of justice,normality ....and dignity!




*Kiwi: a famous -probably English-brand for cake  shoe polish .Almost every Plalestinian home used Kiwi shoe polish, in a flat round tin container.
**(...) I probably forgot the right word...it has been years.....

2 comments:

  1. Thank you for bringing me along on this journey of memories - each of your posts reinforce our similar life experiences - though thousands of miles and multitudes of traditions separate us.

    Robyn

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  2. Thank you Robyn for dropping this comment.Itruly think that it is the difference in attitude that make us closer or far away from others.Religion has nothing to do with that.Its the attitude of someone and extent of his/her civility (in your perspective) that lets you or prevents you from bonding...
    Those moments were of the most precious of my life...they still give me happiness...

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