Christmas in La Réunion

I tried really hard to make myself feel like it was Christmas. I thought cold thoughts. I listened to Christmas music. I even convinced my Muslim roommates that we needed a Christmas tree (we never actually got one, but they at least were on board!)

It wasn't until I was sitting down at Christmas dinner with my french family that I realized I had it all wrong this past month. I was trying to make Réunion have my Christmas, when instead, I should have been falling into Christmas here.

The Christmas concert on the last day of school--the kids sang songs in  French, Créole, and English too! 

The Christmas tree in the Public Gardens

These trees are so so beautiful and just come out for December and January. They are called Flamboyants and I love them. 

Falling in to Christmas here means getting super excited when letchis start appearing on street markets...because they only come around in December, and everyone adores them, I think, because it reminds them of Christmas. Just like us and I dunno, egg nog or something.
(PS I couldn't decide for a long time if I liked letchis. The part you eat kind of makes me think of eating an eyeball. But after a month of trying to decide, the final answer is yes. J'aime bien :) )

Christmas in Réunion means actually shopping...because you can't just find everything online and have it shipped...instead, there are Christmas night markets with bright strings of lights and beautiful handmade gifts. All the shops downtown stay open until midnight for the last three days before Christmas, and the stores that sell chocolate or coffee have lines out the doors.

night market in st. denis

I don't know who the big headed guy is next to Santa, but I find him slightly terrifying. 

So then there is the Christmas celebration itself, and here's how it goes. Everyone (regardless of the religion you believe in) gets together with their family and friends for a HUGE dinner on Christmas Eve.

I was invited to PA and Nathalie's house up on the mountain, where they were hosting dinner for 12...both of their families, me, and their two friends visiting from South Africa. It rained pretty hard off and on the whole night, but they set up a big table for us outside on the patio under some cover. The girls all used the occastion to get dressed up while the guys wore jeans and t-shirts. (Some things are universal.) After walking through the gates, we immeidately had glasses full of white wine and champagne.

And there we sat, laughing and talking in french, and joking, (I can joke in french now!) playing games with the kids. There were three little ones...Stephanie's adorable son Jeremy, and PA's sister (Laurence) and her husband have two kids, Clémence and Thomas. (The most beautiful kids I've ever seen in my entire life.)  I overheard PA's mom telling the South Africans how well I spoke in French and how much I've improved. I blushed a little and pretended not to hear, but it totally made my night!

The first part of dinner was served about two hours later, around 10:00pm. It was a giant plate full of foie gras!! Like seriously, I have never seen that much foie gras in my life. It's really good when you put the little onion jam stuff on it.

The rain stopped enough so we could take the kids to the street and set off some fireworks. Then we tried to light some giant lanterns...you know, the kind that float away into the air all pretty..but instead ours caught on fire. And then, when PA threw it off the balcony, it landed on his cloth awning, which by some stroke of luck did not catch on fire as he bounced the flaming lantern off of it.

Père Noel came in the middle of all this commotion, for it was midnight and that means it was Christmas Day!! Père Noel brings all the gifts for everyone, not just the kids. I did not understand this fact, and all day, PA and Stephanie were reminding me that the kids still believe in Père Noel...so I thought "okay, sure, I promise I won't tell them that there is no Père Noel." But what it actually means is that us adults have nothing to do with any presents until they show up after midnight, and the kids can't see us carrying anything resembling a present. When I showed up to the car with all my gifts for everyone, Stephanie hurried them into the trunk, and they stayed there until Père Noel came.

So, Père Noel was very, very generous. I got loooots of chocolate, jewelry, real hiking boots(!!) french-sized coffee cups, Réunion-made honey and jam, cupcake baking supplies, and a beautiful notebook.

After everyone was finished opening presents, it was close to 1 am, and we sat down for the final part of dinner...Creole rice and duck. It was amazing. For dessert we had  ice cream cake and fancy french chocolates.

I'm not sure exactly what it was about this Christmas that made it one of the best I've ever had. I think, honestly, that I could feel the absolute love and affection this family has for each other. Even more, I felt included in that. And I feel  that in the US, people can get obsessed at Christmas with allowing each other to use or not use words like "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays" and either ignoring religion bitterly or forcing it down each other's throats. I think the Réunionnaise have it right. To each his own. No matter what you believe about Jesus, the general idea of his life is that we should love each other and take care of one another. And that's exactly what I witnessed this Christmas.