Celebrating Christmas 2020; The star ; New York City ; Rockefeller Center

 Celebrating Christmas 2020; The star ; New York City 

Its beens so long since I’ve celebrated Christmas in America. After 3 years of going to Korea for the holidays, we were finally able to stay home for Christmas. And I’ve gotta admit, I never felt so excited. 

Right before the week of Christmas started, I tried to finish all my home school work (which sadly turned out to be a fail). I rushed thru the last page of “180 days of science for sixth grade” and slammed the workbook shut. Excited and joy tendered around me. 

19th Saturday: Watching the star 

On Saturday, my parents and I went to a drive in movie theater our local community has hosting. We watched a Christianity related movie called the star. The air felt crispy when the windows opened so that we can receive our food and goodies. Resting my head on a cup holder, I stuffed myself with popcorn (which my mom wasn’t too happy about) and laughed at a donkey who declared freedom and a bird who was amazing at dancing. The movie was very family-friendly and enjoyable and it gave me an idea of what it would be like during Jesus’ time.

22th Tuesday: New York city

Three days before Christmas, we decided to visit New York city. The car dashed quicker than ever due to no traffic and barely any cars (We still followed the speed limit). When the sky darkened, NYC was not too far away. The colorful sky scrapers welcomed me into the the seasons of the holidays. I snapped some pictures as we crossed queens bridge. And before I knew it, we were driving in the middle of New York City. We were all excited, especially my dad, sense there were barely any cars to cause traffic. “I bet Rockefeller center will be empty too.” It turned out, he was wrong. As soon as we reached fifth avenue, cars and people were everywhere. Still a bit hopeful, we went toward Rockefeller center. I saw my open her mouth to say something, then closed. There were at least 100 people crowded around the Christmas Tree. We were still planning out to get out pf the car, but the side roads were all blocked. So, my mom snapped a few pictures as we slowly passed by.  

 

24th Thursday: Christmas Eve

On Christmas eve, we had our second American style feast at home (the first was during thanksgiving). Unlike the meals in Korea, with rice, beef, pork, soup, vegetables pancakes, and many other side dishes, the Holiday feast in America contained mash sweet potatoes, some vegetables and a huge ham. I was excited when my dad went to pick up the food from whole foods market. In Korea, we opened presents during Christmas eve, so that is exactly what we did on December 24th. At night, I made a short performance for my family as we made a virtual concert.

25th Friday: Christmas Day

Christmas Day was always busy every year. This year however, we only had online service and some face time calls with my friends. We didn’t even eat anything special sense we had leftovers from the day before. As I got ready for bed, I made a quick flashback of the years before. Friends and family visiting my house, having dinner together, staying up all night talking and dancing. But then I noticed that I was still happy and I was still with my family, just not in the same way it used to be. 

I’ve learned many things this year during 2020, like geometry, greek history, and the true feeling of thankfulness. Even though things might be slightly different, that doesn’t take away your wishes and hope.