First Holidays away from home _Day 6

24th December 2011:

Christmas Eve!!

I woke up in the morning and went down for breakfast. I had some milk and cereal. :)

Then, my uncle and I went to pick up Grandma from ferry terminal. She lives in Vancouver Island and coming home for Christmas. My uncle brought me around a town called Tsawwassen and we drove until the USA-Canada border. It was nice small road trip actually. Tsawwassen is a small town with flat land. Then we saw the coal harbor, where coal from Canada is transported worldwide through big cargo ships. The beach in Tsawwassen seems very pretty during summer. So, I can't wait to go there next summer.

After picking up Grandma, we went back home. Then we headed to Richmond Centre, a shopping mall for last minute Christmas shopping.:) We ate lunch in the food court. A surprise happened to me in the mall. When my uncle was taking a picture of me in front of the big Christmas tree , the Santa was right behind me in the picture, which I didn't realize until my uncle says thank you to the Santa. It was just unbelievable how lucky I was. :)

At night, we went to a Unitarian church for Christmas eve celebration.

Unitarian: " We are a community of diverse beliefs and shared values. In fellowship with one another, we seek spiritual growth, social justice, and environmental sustainability through worship, ethical action, education, and artistic expression. We welcomed all who would join this compassionate and visionary community." << right from the pamplet :P

The celebration was amazing! We sang few Christmas carols. I can only recognise "silent night" and "we wish you Merry Christmas" . My favourite was "Deck the Halls". Then we had seasonal reading and a little meditation in the end. We lit up candles in the end before singing the last carol. It was such a nice atmosphere, when everyone in the building gathered to celebrate one event with unity regardless of anything. I was just amazed and realised that celebrations are social constructed events which are meant for unity and joy.

On the way back home, we went around the neighbourhood, looking at the houses decorated with lovely Christmas lights. It was so beautiful.

The highlight of the night: we played monopoly. Although I bankrupted in the end, but playing it was so fun. I remember how my cousins and I back in Malaysia used to play it all the time when we have family gatherings. It was so nice and I have no words to describe the joy I felt today!