Some good some bad

Good news:

• got my recipissé Carte de séjour and it says right on it that I have the right to work; awesome!
• bought my ticket to see family friends in Strasbourg in between Christmas and New Years
• got a call yesterday from someone looking for English tutoring

And the less than great news

• B's family is celebrating Christmas the Saturday before because his aunt and her boyfriend have to work on the 24th
• the weather is still really crappy; can't it just snow already and stop this 33° rain?

I know in the big scheme of things it doesn't really matter if we celebrate Christmas a few days early or not, but it feels like everyone is so impatient they can't hold off till the 25th to open presents and eat lots of food. Last year I learned all about the big meal on Christmas eve and the champagne toast at midnight, but what are we going to be toasting at midnight on Saturday? The fact that it's the 23rd? Not Christmas, that's for sure.

B says I'm just being a fascist (his all-purpose insult), but the holidays are equally about celebrating with your family as celebrating with your community for me. In my neighborhood in San Diego, there's a Mexican tradition of lighting luminaries on Christmas eve. The local community club provides sand and Boy Scout troops sell the paper bags and candles. You fold down the top of the bag, but some sand in the bottom, but the candle in the sand, space the bags along the curb, and light the candles once it's dark on the 24th. Then my family walks around enjoying an entire community glowing with little paper bag lanterns and over-the-top Christmas lights and lawn decorations. Lots of people drive around as well to enjoy the luminaries, and then you clean them up Christmas afternoon when you finally remember them after all the presents have been opened. And waking up to my mom's special coffee cake on Christmas morning! B's family had never tasted mulled cider, spice muffins, or molasses cookies before me, and B's the only one sold on how delicious they are.

Maybe I can convince Bart next year that we should spend Christmas with my family. I guess I should be happy I had a really nice Thanksgiving with lots of family this year, and one good holiday out of two isn't that bad.