2020 was so different than what we expected: shortly after coming to Timișoara (Romania) through the ‘Set the Tempo’ project, the pandemic started – and what happened next really challenged us. We stepped out of our comfort zone and adapted ourselves and our activity to the context. We’ve learnt a lot, tested different kinds of activities in order to make the youth get involved and we rediscovered ourselves and our potential. We managed to make it ‘till the end, keep the good stories and lessons, and most important, we’ve spent the winter holidays in a new, unexpected way.
Read our winter holidays’ stories below:
I used to view Christmas through the lens of cynicism and point out the hypocrisy of the Christmas Spirit in relation to how people are for the rest of the year. While the observation isn’t entirely false, I’ve come to realise that we, instead, should be grateful not only for the opportunity to have days off from work, but also for the fact that Christmas serves as a reminder of values that we should try to cultivate also in our busy, everyday lives, when it is not the holiday. And when it is not the holiday especially. (Daniels, Latvia)
As a Muslim person who has taken part into the Christmas celebration for the first time, it was a brand new experience that I had with my friends and people that I care about. 😀 Muslims don’t celebrate Christmas, but we have similar celebrations during the year. So I am used to family and friends gatherings and celebrations, but not with the gifts part. So when I found out that we have to buy gifts, I said to myself “ohhh sh*t”, not because I don’t like to buy gifts, but because my budget doesn’t allow me to do that, especially when I have a lot of special people around me that I want to give something to. Even if it is not that useful (as the cat pillow that I gave to Nadia and she showed that she liked it – only god knows if she did), I want to give them something that will make them remember me.
Just imagine me giving Marietta a gift and forget about Aigly – I am sure that I will be their next morning topic in their Greek language. I tried my best to buy some gifts, and I know that I didn’t manage to give to everyone. But the good thing that I realised is how hard it is to be a Santa Claus. I understand why Santa is not giving gifts to all people: not because they are bad or they did something bad during the year, but because he runs out of budget, so he creates that bad people list as an excuse.
At the same time, I was soo happy because I was expecting to receive a gift, and I got one. Just imagine this story if I didn’t get one – a lot of drama. The day that we got our gifts I was so happy, you cannot imagine: I have been looking for an hour under the tree till I found mine, I opened it and it was a perfume and a box of chocolate. It was so nice and I loved it so much, even if I was thinking at that moment if my smell really stinks. And of course, nothing works perfectly with me: the perfume was a woman perfume, just imagine. But still, I loved it and I took it as a sign – so thanks Santa, even if you missed my gender. In the end, I want to say that I had a lot of funny moments that I will share beside a woman perfume. (Ali, Tunisia)
Life may be cold and hard, but we should take time to admire the dazzling charm that lies within it.
This Christmas was complicated for me. Right out of a one–month quarantine and with a lot of personal issues to solve. I really wish I could have had the actual chance to live Christmas in my beloved Timisoara properly. But of course, we knew from the start of this outbreak of the virus that this would not be the case. I might have not gotten to see how families and young people traditionally and usually spend their Christmas and New Years’ Eve in Romania, but at least I got to spend them with beloved people, and as a bonus point, I got to go to the mountains and see snow! As the last few hours of this unique year were running away, the place around me, already slightly white, started becoming whiter and whiter. It’s as if the harsh wind blowing outside my window was relentlessly taking the last minutes away and giving soft snow crystals in return.
I was really grateful for starting my new year with everything my eye could see around me being white. This is a view I do not usually have back in my country, and made my Christmas more special. The warm crackling sounds of the fireplace, the soft, calming silence of the whiteness around me, the spicy dryness of the wine used to settle our wishes for the new year and the awkward, with a slight suspicion of worry, but also with a content hopefulness smiles of our group were the first sensations imprinted in my mind for 2021. And the rest followed when I took a walk in the deserted white road by myself, enjoying the fresh freezing coldness of the atmosphere and the creepy yet peaceful lack of sounds that a thick layer of snow tends to attribute to its surroundings.
I hope to keep the bright beautiful image of the glittering melancholy around me in my head for the time to come. My Romanian Christmas may not have been traditional or wild, but it definitely reminded me a truth of life I always need to hold closely: life may be cold and hard, but under the right ray of sunlight, we cannot help but notice and should take time to admire the dazzling charm that lies within it. (Aigly, Greece)
If Corona had not been in here, the winter holidays would have been better and everything would be different, but still it was cool. It was the first time that I celebrated the New Year in a foreign country, and for this reason I had a chance to observe the Christmas and New Year season during my holiday. I am so happy being part of these. I saw sparkling streets and shops actually everywhere. All of them gave me energy. When I saw people with gleamy eyes, I realized that they were so excited for the New Year. I was sharing this feeling with them.
In the first week of the holiday, I was just listening to myself. I was doing things that I like and rest. When the weather was good, I went walking around the Bega river. This city has a calming feature. The second week of the holiday I decided to trip to other cities: Cluj, Craiova and Braşov. The best part for me is train traveling, because of the amazing view. Romania has beautiful green areas. When I was passing the railway, I enjoyed the scenery at the same time I was listening to my favourite podcast series. My traveling was good. I am looking forward to my next trip. 😀 These cities and people too had the same sparkling places and feelings. I would like to see Romania without Covid during the Christmas and holiday season… Why not, maybe, next year, in 2022? (Ceren, Turkey)
Winter is not a season, it’s a celebration.
The colours that I find in winter give me extraordinarily feelings. The moment when I wake up and look from the window makes me feel relaxed.
Besides these fantastic feelings, there is another huge reason that I love winter. This is because of the New Year and Christmas. This is the right time for everyone to gather and one more time to remember that the time is passing, and we have another opportunity to leave the bad vibes and enjoy and start from the beginning. This year, the New Year and Christmas were more special for me. This special feeling had two reasons: first time far from family and enjoying the time in a nice environment.
This winter, the New Year brought a lot of amazing feelings for me. And the light of winter is going to make me want to keep, protect and build more and more. (Alisa, Armenia)
The light of winter is the poetry of patience.
Every time when the season is changing, the feelings are also changing. Sometimes they all look like the same changes, but the feeling that we have in the winter is a bit different: one of the lightest weathers that make everyone happy and fresh. This season has a Christmas and New Year, and this is the secret of its light. You will ask why? Because this lets everyone find what they want, to struggle for what they were waiting, to get new powers, and finally to search the feelings that they still need.
It is a season that brings a lot of love and happiness, and that makes everyone feel that they need to hurry in order to enjoy the life. (Rachad, Lebanon)
Another country and another tradition. I did not know how these holidays will go on for me. Uncertainty has passed when I understood that holiday spirit is following us no matter if we are home or not. While putting a star at the top of our Christmas tree I felt a small dose of family. Even though nothing and no one can replace them, it still had been close enough. I spent my time with my new friends, and in one warm and nice atmosphere. I guess that’s how every Christmas, even the one your country is not celebrating, should look like. I’m thankful for this experience and will miss it back home. (Milica, Serbia)
During the pandemic and all restrictions related to it, it’s hard to enjoy winter holidays as they are. Normally, this time feels so magical, like something changes in the air. Usually, it really does. The smell of cinnamon and apples from hot wine and the sweet scent of hot chocolate are wandering around and at the same time bringing joy, excitement and warmth in people’s hearts. After all, Christmas is not just about food and free days. It’s about love, forgiveness and sense of the community.
Well, this time it’s different. We didn’t have a chance to enjoy the celebration at the Christmas market, as well as we didn’t have a chance to share the joy of holidays with others. We didn’t get a chance for a lot of things.
However, some magic did happen. Our youth centre had a collaboration with Lemon Shake, a small business of a guy with a hot chocolate stand. Every Saturday, we were coming in front of our Aradului youth centre and giving a cup of hot chocolate or hot lemonade (oh, that thing is really tasty) to everyone, who was passing by. People of all ages, from small kids to old grandmas, had a wide smile after I was coming to them with a cup of hot chocolate and loud „Sărbatori fericite!” That feeling of making somebody’s day better was so pleasant, that I couldn’t stop being happy for the rest of the day. Although these winter holidays were not typical at all, I feel glad and grateful that we managed to bring some magic to the local community. (Katsia, Belarus)
2020 stories, 2020 life, 2020 hope…
Here I am. With my story, with my hope, and with my energy.
It was a sunny and long way; it was a beautiful and meaningful day: I took my bag and my long way to the destination that I choose. A place where I had honest people with good vibes and positive minds, a place where the silence was giving me the desire to fly and to feel that I am wild and free.
If Esenin would be with me, he would say – Все начинается со взгляда. Всегда and yes, dear Esenin, I agree with this philosophy.․․ Passing by beautiful places and historical castles, villages and cities I got my new motivation, my new energy and having all my favourite artists with me and my bag, I arrived. After 9 hours of driving, we arrived: I started my new year with my people, with new information about Romania and Romanians, about this historical country.
In my beautiful Armenia, we are saying that with every new year, there is a new luck, there is a new chance. So cheers, my dears, cheers to your new dreams, new hopes and new stories and don’t forget to find what you love and to let it kill you.
Իսկ որպես վերջաբան մի կարևոր մեջբերում այն հիշողությունից ,որը թղթին եմ հանձնել օդանավում 2019 թվականին Տիմիշուարայից Հայաստան ետ վերադարձի ժամանակ։
ես ինձ կորցնում եմ ու գտնում եմ այստեղ,
ամեն կորցնելուց այնպես եմ ցավում կարծես երբեք չեմ գտնելու ,
ամեն գտնելիս այնպես ապրում կարծես երբեք չեմ կորցրել ։
Arus Jan (Armenia)
