Adulting: Do You Enjoy Holiday Coziness When You Want To?
There is a little café I liked to eat at when I lived in Turkey. It served high quality, lovingly created food. The cakes were so tall, the clear cookie jars were full of yummies, and it was Christmas all year.
Seriously. The owner never took down her Christmas décor.
At first, I thought maybe she forgot. It was decorated so nicely for the holidays. The predominant colors are red and white in her café, and then she’d added a sprinkling of winter and Christmas touches here and there.
When summer and fall came, and the decorations stayed, I began to realize it was a permanent theme. Every time I stepped inside, it was like I was entering a pause in time. It was a salute to a season that so many people really enjoy. No excuses needed or given; Christmas was there to stay. And how fantastic it was!
The café owner took something she liked, didn’t care about any unspoken laws of holiday expectations, and as a result, created a comforting, happy environment all year for herself and her customers.
And I’ve since followed her lead. My two kitchen Christmas towels and red little spatula with a peppy snow man on it are available in my kitchen all year. And I think of that eatery when I reach to use them when it’s the middle of March or a hot August day. It’s like a secret celebration.
Like the Turkish café owner, we too can avoid the laws of social expectations. Just as we eat tacos when it’s not Taco Tuesday, we can take it a step further and celebrate favorite holidays how and when we want. We can keep our Valentine’s heart banner up just a bit longer. We can play that beloved Christmas song in February just because we like it. We can even hide Easter eggs for our friends in the summer. My favorite celebration to indulge in? I drink fall flavor teas throughout the year. (Do you know what I'm talking about? Pumpkin spice, cinnamon, apple, and other amazingness!)
Because why not extend the festivities we enjoy? It's helped relax me when I'm anxious. It's been a definite mood booster. It’s fairly easy, and in my opinion, absolutely worth it.
“What life expects of us is that we celebrate.” – José Eduardo Agualusa
