Growing up, I often spent Christmas at my friend Matt’s house. In fact, it often seemed like everyone I knew spent Christmas at his house. After everyone had their family Christmas, we congregated there to celebrate together. Even after college, my friends and I still managed to spend Christmas at Matt’s house, holding onto that one tradition as our lives grew apart.
I haven’t been home for the holidays in four years. I get asked a lot if I miss being home and in the spirit of Christmas. It must be hard to be away all the time, people say. But, while there are things about the holiday season that I do miss, I am not that bothered. My family doesn’t celebrate Christmas and most of my friends have spread out around the country.
When I think of Christmas, I think of spending time with friends and family, eating food, and going to holiday parties. The months before Christmas build excitement not only for the day but for the whole time of year. However, overseas you don’t have that built up, end of the year, holiday season feel surrounding you. You’re always on the move and it’s hard to get into the spirit. When people think of the holiday season, they think of the cold, snow, lots of decorations, work parties, lights, and 24 hour Christmas music on the radio. But as a traveler, you don’t experience that atmosphere. Even if you are in cold and snowy New York, being away from friends and family reduces your holiday cheer.
Traveling around New Zealand with a lot of first time travelers, most comment on how sad they are to be away during this time. But I think, as nice as it is to be with friends and family, being away for the holidays can be a great experience.
My friend calls a traveler’s Christmas an “Orphan Christmas.” You have no loved ones around. Stranded from your loved ones, everyone misses that sense of home. And we all come together because of that and form our own “home.” We have to if we don’t want to spend the day alone. All we have is each other, which I feel is a good thing. This places the emphasis less on gifts and more on just being around others and having a good time. Coming together with other travelers also gives you the chance to learn about how the holiday is celebrated around the world.
Celebrating in New Zealand, I learned they do Christmas lunch instead of dinner. The British love to celebrate the day after Christmas (Boxing Day), Germans get treats leading up to the holiday, Swedes open presents on Christmas Eve as well as the Finnish. And the food people eat is just as varied as the celebrations. We all bring something different to the table and that can make for an interesting, unique, and fun holiday.
Being away from home during this season can be a challenge but everyone who travels should spend at least one away from home. They say necessity is the mother of all inventions. It’s also the mother of all travel relationships. People want to be with others and bonding over a holiday is a great way to become close with others.
A traveler’s Christmas has no gifts, no formalities, no pressure. It’s simply about the food, the people, and the day. And that can give you a renewed appreciation for what this season is supposed to really be about.
This is our first Christmas away from friends and family…and we’re finding we like it! We just spent a very relaxed, quiet Christmas Day on the beach in the Gulf of Thailand…very surreal and very enjoyable. All the best to you in 2010!! Cheers!
Gillian! Happy Holidays! Where in the gulf? A thai xmas is so strange. Have you noticed they really really get into the whole decorations and christmas songs? I find that really interesting considering they are a nation of buddhists.
I absolutely agree with you about the sense of “home” that can be formed by celebrating holidays overseas. I just finished Christmas dinner with some fellow teachers in China, and we managed to hit almost all of the classic American Christmas traditions — exchanging gifts, singing carols, even squabbling around the dinner table. I also love figuring out how to bring family traditions overseas. I can now say that I’ve baked pies, roasted chickens and made cinnamon rolls from scratch, all in my teensy Chinese toaster oven.
Hey Matt – I just discovered you and am really enjoying getting to know you through your blog & twitter. I think this post is excellent & does make people think about the their holidays (in general) & what they should be about!
Merry Christmas to you!
Suzi
Hello and happy Boxing Day – our family is traveling around New Zealand, too, as part of a year-long RTW journey. I was concerned it would be hard on the kids (ages 11 and
to be away from familiar traditions and extended family this year, but quite the opposite: We all had one of the most simple yet special holidays ever. The key was low expectations, low pressure, and embracing the new. We maintained one family tradition by having a special ornament and poem mailed from home; sang carols and Skyped home, and that was it.
My son, the 8-year-old, loves where we’re at and what we’re doing so much that he wrote about it and filmed a mini movie, which I used our blog space for if you’re interested to see how a family unwinds in an unfamiliar rural setting over the holidays: http://away-together.com/2009/12/25/nelson-new-zealand/
For single travelers who don’t have this kind of family connection while traveling, I encourage you to network and get invited to spend time with a family like ours; we’re happy to meet others and welcome them in.
Thanks for your post above and for your positive outlook — I’m enjoying getting to know your blog!
Sarah
‘A traveler’s Christmas has no gifts, no formalities, no pressure. It’s simply about the food, the people, and the day. And that can give you a renewed appreciation for what this season is supposed to really be about.’
- That was a well expressed thought Matt!!
Avid traveller and first-time poster here. Most people spend their Xmas in malls fighting each other for the latest toys and pretending to have a great time with family members for the sake of exchanging gifts. I would take a great fulfilling trip with genuinely good locals to hang out with any day over this sad ritual that we have made Christmas into.
Maybe if people take a break and actually spend this time away from their friends and family, they would all appreciate each other more while experiencing a new culture somewhere else in this world.
I totally agree. Christmas is way too commercialized. In fact, every holiday is. It’s never about people anymore- just about the stuff we give and the things we buy.
Thanks for taking the time out to comment.
Hi Matt,
I discovered your blog through the NYT link. I spent last X’mas in Kathmandu and the New Year’s traveling down to the Sundarbans in Bangladesh. I am home (in snowy NY) for the holidays this year. While I like being in NYC this time of the year, I must admit it gives you a different perspective about the world when you are away during the holidays. I agree that everyone should spend at least one holiday season away from home. I certainly plan to be away next holiday season.
Merry Christmas and I look forward to reading more posts from you!
Thanks for coming to my blog and the lovely comment. I look forward to hearing from you more!
Stay warm in NY!
Probably everything depends on personal experience. Although it is already 10 years as I am on the road and travel the World, I am always at home on Xmas eve for family dinner. Can celebrate NYE on the beach but need snow for Xmas
Snow makes me sad on the inside. I’m totally a sun junkie.
i haven’t tried spending christmas away from my family… maybe ill try it next year…
merry christmas matt
-flip
I think it would be a wonderful adventure to spend the holidays abroad. I want to be in Italy somewhere next year for christmas and the new year. I’d love to see the similarities and the differences in how they celebrate.
Happy holidays Matt!
Do it!
Thx for your post. Some of the best holidays I’ve had have been impromptu get togethers away from family. Sometimes you can gather a disparate group of people together, swap cultural traditions and have an amazing time. One year I went to a holiday party in western China where we sang Christmas carols in English and in French because there were a lot of French students studying at universities there. Another year I ended up night skiing and sitting by a bonfire with a friend from South Africa. Great fun. And that’s what it’s all about — spending time with people and having fun.
Was my first Christmas without family this year, I had a turkey sandwich on the beach in Australia, different to all the snow back in Europe at the moment.
Merry Christmas everyone, and happy new year!
I’ve spent three Thanksgivings away from home…in London…where, obviously, they don’t celebrate. One year, I cooked a dinner for 17 people! But Christmas? I’ve never been away for it. I applaud your New Zealand trip. I hope to do that someday. Kudos, Matt!
I hunt down Americans on Thanksgiving like Paris Hilton hunts down a camera to be on.
I spent christmas in Hong Kong a couple of years back and loved it. Seeing how the rest of the world celebrates it is really fun. I know what christmas is like back home so why not go and find out what its like in Europe or America.
I see how some people might like being away for the holidays, but I don’t know if I’ll ever get completely used to it. I can remember a time when my husband and I were backpacking in Thailand during Thanksgiving. It was the first time we had been to Ko Samui and the weather couldn’t have been worse! We were stranded at our beautiful bungalow, and I can remember running through the rain to get to a phone so that I would be able to call home. When I got in touch with family, they sounded like they were having the time of their lives and I knew exactly what I was missing.
I totally agree with you that the key to having a happy holiday experience when traveling is to surround youself with other travelers. This was our mistake in Thailand. For some reason, we chose to go to one of the more secluded hotels. Lesson learned.