Noel

Merry Christmas, or shall I say Happy Boxing Day since I've missed posting this entry before midnight. I had the fortune the last couple of days to experience a French Christmas, making this the second Christmas I've spent overseas. Though I missed home a bit during the week leading up to today, I really couldn't have asked for a better celebration or anthropological experience.

It all started last night with a Christmas feast prepared by Juju with nothing more than some afternoon inspiration and quality ingredients. The sumptuous menu included:

Foie gras on toast
Creme fraiche and smoked salmon on blintzes
Fresh oysters with a squeeze of lemon
Foie gras and quail egg custard with chives (I admit, it sounds a bit odd, but it was delicious - a Juju original!)
Shank of lamb, seasoned with garlic and chanterelle mushrooms
Latkes (L-Daddy's family is Jewish so his mom made these to represent their side)
Salad with lemon vinaigrette
Home-made, hand-rolled yule log with creme patissiere for dessert

And of course, all of this accompanied with copious servings of French wine!

A far cry from the traditional turkey dinners I'm used to in Canada, this was an exotic and satisfying treat. We finished off the evening with coffee and a present-wrapping frenzy after sending the kids to bed to save Santa the trouble of squeezing down the impossibly narrow vent of the wood stove in their living room.

This morning I, who was sleeping on the couch to give our guests (L-Daddy's parents and sister) bed space, awoke to the sound of scampering feet and excited whispers - not Santa but the kids triaging their presents in anticipation of the opening fiesta. After all the time spent wrapping presents last night, they were denuded of their paper in less than 15 minutes. It was fun to watch the kids open their gifts, but almost more fun to watch the adults open theirs. I realized that I must come from a very reserved family after observing the open critique of each item received, be it a dress shirt or a Blackberry phone. I don't think I've ever dared to complain about a gift, especially not to its giver, but Juju, the Ls and their guests held nothing back, almost like some sort of disparaging game. Though it might have been tempting to join in the squabbling fun, I was just glad to have been included in the gift exchange and kept my mouth shut.

Aside from the menu and gift acceptance (or general non-acceptance), the weather was also decidedly different than snowy Canada. Though we did have a few weeks of chilly rainy days in autumn, today was warm and bursting with sunshine making it feel more like Easter than Christmas. I took advantage of the clement climate to go for a run and burn off some of the thousands of calories consumed between last night's feast and this morning's honey-and-butter-spread baguette dipped in cafe au lait. With my new water-bottle belt (my self-selected Christmas present) and MP3 player (Juju's birthday gift to me) strapped on I must have spent about 2 hours frolicking through the fields around the house.

I got back to find the kids absorbed in their new video games, Juju absorbed in her new Blackberry and Grandma L absorbed in her new book. So I guiltlessly locked myself in my room and spent the rest of my afternoon playing with my real gifts (a stocking full of goodies sent from home), making plans with Ryo for his arrival on Saturday, reading holiday e-mails and chatting with family on Skype. After a week of feeling homesick for the family get-togethers and turkey dinners I'll have missed this year, today turned out to be a pretty merry Noel after all!