cultural experiences
HOLID
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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