Oh, Christmas, my favorite holiday! Even during the pandemic, I still have kindled a small hope that I'll be able to see my parents and continue our family's tradition of spending Christmas Eve and Christmas itself together. Alas, as it turned out, this year we had to repeat the Easter scenario and meet our loved ones via Zoom. As I was tucking away all the gifts that someday (probably when the quarantine restrictions will be lifted) are going to be delivered, I decided to roll up my sleeves and try to make the most of this (gloomy) situation.
It all started with baking gingerbread biscuits and Christmas cake, enhanced with chocolate and brandy-soaked raisins. This took me couple of days and, basically, both baking and decorating were an incredibly meditative experience. As a tradition, I continue making geeky biscuits, so this year I decided to repeat "The Witcher III: Wild Hunt" medalion-shaped ones that I made last year, and also made a tribute to "The Mandalorian" series.
Preparations for the traditional Christmas Eve table were surprisingly easy: just couple of calls to my mom about her go-to dishes, a little bit of googling while trying out to pick something new to try out, and voila, everything was ready. Since traditional Lithuanian Christmas Eve food is archaic, the products are simple and it's relatively uncomplicated to turn them into a dish. After chopping lots of carrots, onions, herring, cooking beans, and cleaning fish I've found myself realizing that I've probably made more food than two people could eat not only during one dinner, but in two days. And, yeah, I was right.
When everything was in place, it was a time to connect with our families via Zoom. Although it was far from this same, when everybody is physically present at the table, it made both me and my husband to feel a little bit less lonely and gloomy. I felt incredibly thankful to humanity for being able to construct such technologies that even in these trying times would help to see the ones you love, even with hundreds of miles in-between.
Have a merry and bright Christmas, everyone!
Stay strong, stay healthy!
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