Every family has different Christmas traditions, and I wanted to write down some of the things that we do, as we come to the end of 2024. This year I am in a very very low place and won’t be celebrating Christmas properly, as I’m in hospital, but I hope I can recontinue all these traditions next year, and when I have my own family, and maybe start new ones. Being in hospital has also meant I’ve spoken to lots of different people, and have been introduced to some new traditions, which has been very interesting!
- Advent – every year, our advent calendars for eachother are fabric fill-your-own ones, with a little chocolate each day and a note, like a reason why you love the person, or why they’re great. Every four or five days there’s a card with a number on it, and this corresponds to a gift in a basket, and all the gifts are Christmas themed to get you ‘in the festive mood’ – the first is always pyjamas or a jumper, but otherwise they are small things like earrings, shower gel, socks!
- Christmas lights and tree – we always put our Christmas lights up outside at the start of December, and we always have a tree we decorate with lots of random different decorations with different memories
- Christmas dinner and baking – we like to cook a big Christmas dinner over Christmas Eve and on the day, all helping out, and I always make a cake for the Christmas get-together we have with our extended family, inbetween Christmas and New Years (although I don’t always attend it). I also like to do festive baking for family, friends, and my mum’s work, over December
- Christmas quiz – I make a Christmas quiz each year which we all do on the day, or on Boxing Day if we run out of time!
- Christmas decorations – we like to decorate the house with lots of decorations throughout, and every year I always like to make a new decoration for either the house or the tree!
- Chistmas reviews – I review Christmas food over November
- Christmas films and shows – from December we try to watch a Christmas film or show each day, and we always get a festive TV guide to circle all the shows we want to watch!
I’m always interestd by Filipino Christmas traditions, which are part of the celebrations of the family on my dad’s side. Did you know the Philippines are known for celebrating Christmas for the longest period, out of all the nations? They also complete nine masses (known as The Nine Mornings) starting from December 16th, with everyone coming together as a community. There are different Christmas foos too – including Bibingka, a coconut, rice flour, sweet treat. And there’s different decorations, like parols.
Do you have any Christmas traditions, related to your culture, or within your family?
(On a different note, I wanted to also quickly update on how I am now. I was admitted to hospital after my visit to Canada, and it’s safe to say this has been by far the worst admission of my life. I’m in a general ward and from day one have been forced to be tube fed, with no option of eating or drinking orally as part of my meal plan. I have been subject to restraints, not allowed any fresh air, and forced to wear mitts at night and during feeds. This is all despite putting on over 9kg and trying hard to be compliant. I have also been experiencing a lot of distressing and uncomfortable physical symptoms, like nausea and vomiting, which have made it even harder to cope with, and has messed up my normal sleeping routine. My life feels like..nothing really. I might share some of the poetry I’ve written. I’ve attempted suicide, and I feel like all I’ve learnt is to never trust services again.
I don’t want to dwell on all this, but this has been a real eye opener on the injustice and poor care that continues to happen under the mental health act. There are so many problems with current systems. And no one, no one..really understands the complexities of autism, and of mental health).