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Tag Archives: christmas

christmas doesn’t need “saving”

04 Friday Dec 2020

Posted by azahar in christmas, coronavirus, covid

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christmas

saving christmas

Sent to me my my lovely friend Pilar and really it says it all. Even if you aren’t a believer (I am not, but I am a lover of Christmas), I think the true meaning of Christmas is the same for many of us. We don’t need the parties, meeting up with friends and family to feel Christmas alive in our hearts, to feel genuine love and compassion for others, and to share that with others albeit virtually. Translation below…

I don’t know who invented the phrase “Save Christmas” and honestly I am a little tired of hearing it and reading it on social media, I would like to say that Christmas is not being saved because Christmas “IS”.
It is a space of time that for those of us who believe in God which has a meaning of Hope, Faith and Love, we live this time with the hope that the world will become more human and more caring. This year it will be different, the dinners, parties, meetings will be different, perhaps we cannot share it with all our relatives but our love towards them will remain the same.
We must wish that each heart remains in this life, that not one more leaves us, we must SAVE LIVES not Christmas because Christmas will live and will continue to live each day in every one of us.

black christmas

13 Friday Nov 2020

Posted by azahar in christmas, coronavirus, covid, sevilla, spain, travel

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christmas, coronavirus, sevilla, spain, travel

Those of you who know me also know that there are probably not many other people you know who LOVE the Christmas season as much as I do. This isn’t because of all the happy memories of Christmases past… in fact it’s the opposite. It’s because I never had any nice Christmas memories growing up, so when I left home at the ripe old age of 15 I decided to start making my own traditions. And Christmas became MY THING. And OMG I love it, not as a religious holiday but kind of based on the concept of the birth of Jesus being a metaphor for the birth of compassion in the world. Not a GOD, but just a person like us. So I always made sure to make a big fuss over everything about celebrating the birth of compassion, and yeah, also love the lights, the songs, the movies, the everything. Don’t care too much about gifts, but again, that is another expression of appreciating the people we love, and letting them know, so that’s cool too.

Thing is, this year is different. Really different. We have constantly seen catastrophes happening around us because people will JUST NOT LET GO  of the idea that they can’t do things like they have always done. First it was that they NEEDED their summer holidays (who the fuck travels abroad ON HOLIDAY during a global pandemic??) and as a result of people not staying put we are experiencing a killer second wave of this fucking virus. And don’t even get me started on non-maskers and “herd immunity” assholes and people who have still had big weddings, birthdays, etc. Anyhow, now it’s coming up to Christmas and my Twitter feed is full of people talking about getting home for the holidays and I am like WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK??

Have people learned NOTHING?? Here we are in Spain not allowed to travel outside our own municipalities, with a curfew from 10pm to 7am, and yet they are still allowing tourists in and out?? This also goes for people who live here and have family elsewhere (or vice versa), somehow thinking that their family gathering is worth more than the safety and lives of others, that THEIR situation is the exception. This is the exact opposite of what Christmas should be about because this isn’t about giving or sharing or caring, it’s about selfish personal desire, and then just doing what you want at the possibly horrific expense of others. Honestly, I despair.

christmas reyes birthday shopping

09 Thursday Jan 2020

Posted by azahar in birthdays, casa azahar, cats, christmas, holidays, home, retail therapy, shopping

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birthday, casa azahar, christmas, home

So I went Christmas, Reyes Magos and Birthday shopping today… all for me! I had suddenly run out of both my Clinique Elixir perfume and Clinique moisturizer – eek! – and had to re-stock. While I was at it I also got a travel-sized tube of the moisturizer, and would have also bought a smaller perfume for travelling (I’m out of that too), but they were sold out of the latter. Anyhow, a good haul and all was on sale. Yay.  🙂

christmukkah!

27 Friday Dec 2019

Posted by azahar in casa azahar, cats, christmas, food & drink, friends

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christmas, friends, hanukkah, sevilla

So Martha is back in town! And so we planned to meet up on Christmas day for a Christmas Hanukkah mash-up at my place. Well, first we had to stop at Las Teresas for jamón and cava. Then it was back to Casa Azahar for the carrillada al oloroso I’d prepared the day before. We were also prepped, wearing comfy clothes and ready to eat, drink and watch Christmas movies with the cats. And so we did. And it was fabulous.  🙂


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another family christmas party!

26 Thursday Dec 2019

Posted by azahar in christmas, family, friends, sevilla

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christmas, family, friends, sevilla

Following the lovely pre-Christmas Eve family dinner on Monday was an actual Christmas Eve dinner, this time with the family of my pal Jota (owner of La Chalá and Lola por Diós), and our friend Esteban (Vermutería Yo Soy Tu Padre) and his mother. When I arrived Jota was busy in the kitchen – he prepared the entire meal on his own – so I chatted with his parents and other family and friends while we waited for Esteban and Tanya to arrive. Everyone was so charming and friendly… and as it turned out most of them are originally from Galicia.

As you can see, it really was a feast. Not showing are the four thousand desserts and endless bottles of wine… I ended up rolling home around 2.30 and was far from chipper on Christmas morning. But it was another wonderful family gathering. I think this has been my best ever Christmas in Sevilla!

Fabulous feast!

My boys! Jota & Esteban ❤

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