Thread by @hanihassan26

My earliest memory of a #ChristmasEve celebration comes back to me every year around this time...
I must have been around 6 or 7 years old, & we were gathered at a family friend's home in beautiful Ain Zhalta. The house was a short distance in off the main road..
1/5

There were pine & other conifers around it, all lightly covered with snow, though I don't recall much snow on the ground.
There was no electricity, & no generators polluting the lull of the eve. Nothing in the air but the scent of burning wood from stoves inside the homes..
2/5

Inside, there was so much cheer bouncing around the walls, adults chattering away about things we kids had no concern understanding, chestnuts roasting atop a Qatorji stove, & so much warmth..
We gathered around the Christmas tree whose lights had no need to flicker
3/5

playing with toys that had been lovingly packaged for the occasion..
I don't remember all the toys, but I do remember a small horse which came with a rider on its back, & a matchbox car whose doors swung open..
Much of that night's details are missing
4/5

but every year around this time, I recall the warmth of that night, the scents, & the sounds..
It was certainly a much simpler time.
Better? Happier? I really can't say. I wouldn't want to say.
But it was certainly a memorable eve.

Wishing you all a warm #ChristmasEve 🎄🙏🏼