Every year I'm asked the same question. And every year is the same answer: "No. I'm not going home for Christmas". After 11 years in Ireland I only spent Christmas in France once. Not that I don't want to go to France for Christmas, but I work in an industry where the busiest period of the year is that time, so I can't take holidays before the 24th of December. And you can imagine the price of the plane ticket then...
It never really bothered me though. My parents came over the 2nd year I was here, and we had a traditional Christmas dinner with my "Irish family" ( I will talk about them in a later post, don't worry!). We had the turkey, the stuffing, the Christmas pudding and everything in between! My parents were delighted and even posed for a photograph with a paper crown out of Christmas cracker.
The most important thing is that, every year, we spend Christmas day with people who, like us, are not going home for Christmas. It started the first year and became a bit of a tradition. And that's what the Christmas spirit is all about in my opinion, spending that day with people you care about, even if it's not your immediate family.
So, wherever you are, Irish abroad, foreigner here, my family and friends in France and Mauritius, I wish you all a
Happy Christmas!
Nollaig Shona Dhuit!
Joyeux Noël!
Nedeleg Laouen!
