The Orient - Day 0 - Christmas

“The Orient”

12/25/15, “Christmas”

John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York (JFK)

Reader, recall the theme of this Travelogue?  Finding the familiar within the unfamiliar and experiencing the unfamiliar within the familiar.  It is just as fitting today as it was a month ago when I went to Egypt.  The familiar panic as I begin to embark on an extended journey to the unfamiliar, the familiar departure traditions and familiar Christmas traditions, all with their slight unfamiliar variations, that was what Christmas Day this year was about.

My Christmas traditions are practically down to a science.  Christmas Eve, watch “A Christmas Story,” smoke last year’s Christmas pipe with the last of the Christmas Cheer tobacco.  Explain to my mother my schedule for the evening so that I don’t see my presents before midnight, so that the illusion of Christmas isn’t ruined for me.

Christmas morning, wake up, get the eggnog ready, turn on “The Yule Log,” open up my new Christmas pipe, get the new Christmas Cheer tobacco, rub out my tobacco, build a fire, use the same match to light the pipe as I light the fire.  Wait, one problem.  It was in the 60s outside today, and the house was 74 degrees.  Well, maybe a variation to the Christmas tradition was in order this year.  No need to build a fire in a 74-degree, and no reason not to smoke outside in the 60s.  Crack the door so that I could watch “The Yule Log,” and I was set.  Why not?  It was a variation to the Christmas tradition, but it was one born out of practicality.

Another unofficial tradition is to have a friend or a couple of friends over, guys whose parents didn’t live locally, so my parents were more than happy to welcome them into our home for the holiday.  We all smoked outside, then my mother made us breakfast, along with coffee and eggnog.  The rest of the Christmas traditions?  Watch “A Christmas Story” sporadically, hoping to see every scene at some point, head to the movie theatre, then get Chinese food at our usual restaurant.

My parents did not want to go to the movie, but my mother said she would drop us off at the movie theatre then join us for dinner, along with my father.  I wanted to see “Joy,” especially since we saw “American Hustle” on Christmas two years ago, and David O. Russell seems to be working his way into becoming the next Quentin Tarantino.  The movie had bad reviews, but I had faith in Jennifer Lawrence’s ability to salvage it with an Oscar-worthy performance.  My friends were willing to agree to see “The Big Short,” which likely will be nominated for Best Picture.  I was going to see it Tuesday night, but it was sold out.  Reader, guess what?  The showing we wanted to see this afternoon was sold out, too.  We decided that I’d see “Joy,” and my friends would see “Daddy’s Home,” a Mark Wahlberg/Will Farrell comedy that I wouldn’t see for free.  Then the five of us would all meet for dinner.

Since the weather was so beautiful, we played football for an hour, while we smoked cigars, a Montecristo for me, my birthday box now empty.  I then needed to pack and shower and get dressed before we left for the movie.  My plan was I’d take a taxi to the airport straight from Scarsdale around 9 PM.  The movie would be over at 6 PM, their movie at 6:45 PM, dinner by 7 PM.

As I packing, I couldn’t find my special New Year’s cigar, the Davidoff “Year of the Monkey.”  Without it, my trip would be ruined.  My friend told me that I left it in my apartment.  “Oh, fuuuuudge.”  Only, I didn’t say “fudge.”  I sincerely hope my reader catches that reference.  I would need to stop in the city on my way to the airport.  That meant, we’d have to go straight from restaurant to the train station, catch an 8:03 PM train from White Plains, go to my apartment, get the cigar, and then in a taxi to the airport.  The timing would be a lot tighter, but it would work out.  It’d actually be cheaper than taking a taxi straight from Westchester.

In the end, the timing worked out perfectly, even with a little time to spare.  “Joy” was disjointed and painful at times, but the movie as a whole was decent enough.  Jennifer Lawrence gave the performance of her career, maybe even better than in “Silver Linings Playbook,” but it was not enough to save the film.  “Much better than I expected” was the opening line of the review I texted my friend after the movie.  That doesn’t mean it was great, though.  Of my two friends who saw “Daddy’s Home,” one walked out halfway through, and the other met us afterwards.

We went to our familiar Chinese restaurant afterwards, and my mother recommended against my usual Peking duck, due to time concerns.  I got an egg roll, white rice, and sesame beef.  I ate every delicious bite, along with a Diet Coke.  I will spend the next week eating Chinese food, but I doubt I will have sesame beef or anything like it until come back home.

Oh right, about that, when I last closed, I said my plans for this week were up in the air.  Well, I got the vacation time approved, and I got a very generous bonus.  The dream trip suddenly became doable.  That is what is happening.  I planned it within ten days of departure.  I still haven’t even booked all of my hotels or finalized my itinerary.  The only thing I know is that my first stop in Beijing will be the 2008 Olympic Stadium, commonly known as the “Bird’s Nest.”

Christmas is on Friday this year, but, previous years, my flights have been on the Friday after Christmas, to Ushuaia, Argentina and Zagreb, Croatia, connecting in Buenos Aires and Istanbul, respectively.  This year I’ll connect in Seoul.  I rarely connect, but I’ve been connecting on these trips, always stopping at the connection city later in the trip.  I got to the airport with plenty of time, and I even had enough time to smoke an Avo before I went through security, which was a breeze.  I then headed to my gate, where I proceeded to write this entry, which I will now close after some brief reflections.

Just as I decried the religiosity of Thanksgiving while lauding the spirit of the holiday, I will do the same for Christmas, my favorite holiday of the year.  People are shocked to learn that I’m Jewish and celebrate Christmas.  However, to me, Christmas is neither about Christ nor Mass.  It is about goodness and joy.  It is about the spirit of a season that can lift the darkest of moods.  It is the culmination of a holiday season that truly brings nothing but goodness and joy.  That is what I celebrate on Christmas, and each and every one of my Christmas traditions add to that goodness and joy in Christmas present, reminding me of the goodness and joy of Christmases past and lending hope to the goodness and joy of Christmases future.  That is what Christmas means to me.