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Christmas Program Chez Clarissa

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Clarissa

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So this is my Christmas Eve program:

In the morning, I will work on my new book. It will be Day 10 on my new Seinfeld Chain. My longest Seinfeld Chain was 104, and I need to break that record.

Then I will cook my vegetarian dinner.

After that, I will do beauty and relaxation procedures.

N and I will exchange gifts after the Christmas Eve dinner. We decided to adopt my sister’s genius solution to the Christmas / New Year’s dilemma that haunts every immigrant from my culture. The Big Gifts will be exchanged on New Year’s Eve. But Christmas will not remain gift-free. We will exchange stockings filled with a collection of small gifts we’ve been gathering for each other for the past month. N’s surprise gifts include a fancy sleeping mask, very chic socks, sweets, and a few more things.

After dinner and gifts, we will drive around, enjoying the Christmas decorations people have put up in our town.

Then we will come back home, light the fireplace, and watch Russian TV shows.

Merry Christmas, everybody! Remember that for those who don’t celebrate Christmas I will keep publishing fun and exciting posts all through Christmas. Unlike other blogs, this one is not going dark during the festivities.

13 responses to “Christmas Program Chez Clarissa”

  1. musteryou Avatar
    musteryou

    Here’s how you get with the program:

    http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/why-japan-is-obsessed-with-kentucky-fried-chicken-on-christmas-1-161666960/?no-ist

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    1. Clarissa Avatar
      Clarissa

      “Wendy’s is making a high-end reentry into Japan with a $16 burger festooned with foie gras and truffles.”

      • Where is my foie-gras burger?????

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      1. musteryou Avatar
        musteryou

        Geesh. It might be with your baked alaska salad?

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  2. N G Avatar
    N G

    It’s shaping up to be an interesting Christmas. The wife of the current incumbent at my parish died suddenly last Sunday morning so the church is having a last minute fill in for the services. The temperature is 47 degrees Fahrenheit so no white Christmas. It’s raining right now. My youngest daughter wrecked my Ex’s brand new car in a car accident two days ago. At least my oldest daughter is coming home today from Michigan with her boyfriend so the whole family will be together for the holidays.

    You might like a “Visit from Janet Yellen” or “T’was the Night before Christmas” for economists.

    http://macro-man.blogspot.ca/2014/12/a-visit-from-janet-yellen.html

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    1. Clarissa Avatar
      Clarissa

      It’s really warm here, too! What kind of Christmas is it without snow? I find this very annoying.

      Have fun with your family!

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  3. cliff arroyo Avatar
    cliff arroyo

    In Poland, Christmas Eve is far more important than Christmas Day, even though it’s technically a working day while the 25th and 26th are free…

    Everything important takes place on the 24th, the sharing of communion wafer, the big lenten meal, exchanging presents and for some midnight mass. There’s no real specific christmas traditions for the 25th and 26th (maybe visiting family on the first day and friends on the second, but that’s hardly unique…)

    Just finished the lenten (fish and vegetarian) meal that’s the high point of the holiday with village barszcz (buckwheat, dried mushrooms and fermented rye flour (жур)) fried carp, herring in sour cream and horseradish, homemade cabbage pierogies sauteed in fresh rapeseed oil, dried fruit compot and some other stuff served with a nice Romanian white wine (Murfatlar, similar in taste to Tokaj). Stuffed and ready to veg out for a while….

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    1. Clarissa Avatar
      Clarissa

      “In Poland, Christmas Eve is far more important than Christmas Day, even though it’s technically a working day while the 25th and 26th are free”

      • Ok, now I’m getting confused. This sounds as if it has to be followed by “unlike somewhere else.” I thought today was the day for the festivities. Was I mistaken? Should it be tomorrow?

      I will never get this right. 🙂

      “Just finished the lenten (fish and vegetarian) meal that’s the high point of the holiday with village barszcz (buckwheat, dried mushrooms and fermented rye flour (жур)) fried carp, herring in sour cream and horseradish, homemade cabbage pierogies sauteed in fresh rapeseed oil, dried fruit compot and some other stuff served with a nice Romanian white wine (Murfatlar, similar in taste to Tokaj).”

      • Sounds phenomenal!

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      1. cliff arroyo Avatar
        cliff arroyo

        “I thought today was the day for the festivities. Was I mistaken? Should it be tomorrow?”

        It might be a catholic/protestant thing.

        In the mainstream protestantish area I’m from the 24th and 26th are regular working days and the 25th is the only holiday with a holiday dinner (usually more or less the same as Thanksgiving dinner) and gifts (usually opened in the morning because kids don’t want to wait any longer).

        The Catholics I knew traditionally had a special dinner on Christmas Eve and might exchange family gifts but they also did Christmas dinner on the 25th (and have gifts ‘from Santa’ for the kids on the 25th as well).

        I wouldn’t be surprised if the 24th is more important in Quebec.

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        1. Clarissa Avatar
          Clarissa

          OK, I’m just going to be a Catholic for the day because I already have my plan in place and it would be too disruptive to switch it all for tomorrow.

          Well, at least nobody has to tell me how to do the New Year’s right.

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  4. cliff arroyo Avatar
    cliff arroyo

    Oh and it’s 8 celsius with scattered rain and strong winds where I am, very weird for December, more like October or early November.

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    1. musteryou Avatar
      musteryou

      scattered strong winds…..

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  5. musteryou Avatar
    musteryou

    Where else can I spread my chaos today?

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  6. The years (2009) | Literature Should Mean Something in Your Life

    […] and spent 33.  This year, I haven’t done any writing yet except for Morning Pages, but inspired by Clarissa, I’m going to start a Seinfeld Chain […]

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A conservative literary critic and college professor

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