Pauza Magazine Winter 2014 | Page 12

cultural experiences HOLID C T HRISTMAS IN MACEDONIA By David Nash-Mendez - MAK 18 he moment I read about Macedonia following the Julian calendar, I knew I was in trouble. The holiday season this year was to be twice as long, twice as many Christmases and twice as many New Years. I know that Christmas is supposed to be about spending time with family and friends, but if you work enough years of retail, it’s pretty easy to get burned out on the American version of the holiday. Whether it’s the nonstop commercialism, the relentless train of sweets being offered followed by choruses of complaints about waistlines, the ridiculous War on Christmas distraction, or just hearing Wham!’s “Last Christmas” for the 30th time on that trip to the mall that you’ve been dreading for weeks because you know you’ll never find parking, the American version of Christmas is exhausting. I might be alone in this, but the obligation of Christmas cheer just makes me more of a Grinch. So naturally, I was worried about having to maintain my sanity for twice as long this year. Luckily, holidays as an expat are what you want to make of them. You can pick and choose the best pieces of what you like and share them with who you want. I didn’t want to celebrate American Christmas until I remembered that fact. So instead of trying to reproduce the Christmas you see on TV, I shared with my site mates the way that my family in the US celebrates. My mom is from Paraguay so we always celebrate Christmas Eve her way. We crank up the heat to 90, walk around in summer clothes, make a tropical fruit punch and tons of Paraguayan food, and throw on some good