The Twenty-fifth of December

I was quite surprised to find that my last blog was in fact while we were still in Jaipur; so much has happened since then, and I really don't know where to start. I have enjoyed Mumbai thus far, but whilst I am still keen for each day and the experiences it will bring, I have also found myself ticking off each night in the hotel; one less till Goa and in turn my bed at home in Epsom. While a few of us were having lunch at Cafe Mondegar yesterday, the Blackcaps ODI match was being screened on the TV. It seemed that the Sky TV operators knew where we were and what we were experiencing as close-ups of Mt Eden, the Sky Tower, harbour bridge and various panoramas of the city flashed before our eyes.

I must admit I had a few tinges of homesickness then.
But these tinges have never been long-lasting, or big enough to effect me in any hugely profound way.

The twenty-fifth of December was an interesting day. Because it was exactly that: the twenty-fifth of December. Christmas has not come yet, and won't for another year. Secret Santa was a lot of fun, and reading letters from home and hearing the voices of family again were very special moments, but this was not because they occurred on Christmas day. Rather, it was because we are in India, because we have spent so long away from home that we felt the feelings we did on that day. When we visited the slum in the evening, it seemed as though we had stepped into another world, but for the individuals whose time in the slums is a daily reality it was just another night.

In my last debrief with Mr Skeen, where we discussed what signified the transition between boyhood and manhood, we attempted to define what it means to be a 'man'. Each person had their own definition, and a poem we read put many of the different attributes of 'manliness' we had mentioned into a very complete summary. Mr Skeen suggested that we cannot claim to be a man until we reach the day of our death, and we look back on life with a sense of peace, and acceptance of all our shortcomings. Others disagreed, and said that we become a man when we realise that life is about more than just ourselves; this is similar to what I first thought. But what I then realised is that because each of us define being a 'man' in our own unique way, we only ever reach manhood when we achieve what we perceive it to be in our own individual lives. That is, if you define manliness as Mr skeen does, it is only possible to achieve THAT form at the end of your life.

All this highlighted to me that we often feel the need to define a wide range of characteristics or views under one banner or word, such as 'man'. Another example is with 'religion'. We shorten and dumb down what can only be expressed in many words into one word. This then, I feel, creates needless boundaries that only confuse us more; as though you can only be one or the other, boy or man, religious or non-religious. Likewise, in Western culture we often feel the need to mark important historical events on a particular day. I very much doubt that Christ was born on the 25th of December, but it was a hugely significant event, so we feel the need to mark its occasion on a particular day. Even events such as Waitangi Day, which definitely occurred on the 6th of February, represent a lot more than just a few men signing a piece of paper. It represents the birth of a nation, and we chose that day to celebrate it. 

Christmas Day for me represents a lot more than just Santa and presents. Which is why I feel like I haven't had Christmas yet; the day has passed, but it was so different that I barely had time to process what that day meant for me. 

It was just the 25th of December.

Chris (apologies for the essay)