A very different merry Christmas
Sunshine, sea, hot temperatures, summer dresses, warm nights. Our very different Christmas. And yet: It wasn’t at all less beautiful than the Christmas we normally celebrate at home. In fact, we did celebrate at home. On the Thor, our second home.
The preparations for this time of the year weren’t as different as the preparations usually go by. We had an advent calendar and everyone got to open a door, together with another person or two. The themes of these little presents varied from a haircut for free to being allowed to sleep through the night, without having to do the night watch. I don’t think you can imagine how precious that is on board! We also baked biscuits, decorated and got Christmas letters. But still – many of us didn’t get that special feeling you get when Christmas is near. At this time of the year, we are used to snow, cold temperatures, Christmas markets and hot cocoa. Kind of weird. Not experiencing that routine, these events that take place every year, felt a bit odd, at least for me. But once the 24th rolled around, we got to see how beautiful such a change can be. The morning didn’t have any special events. We woke up at our normal times, ate breakfast and cleaned our cabins and the ship itself. Then we had lunch together and afterwards, the real deal started. We had a little meeting to talk about the preparations that had to take place, about who would do what and the most important thing of all: the dress code.
The afternoon was filled with putting together the tree and decorating it, as everyone got to choose something from home to decorate the tree with, hanging up fairy lights and (fake) Christmas tree branches, arranging the tables and decorating them. And of course: Cooking our dinner. Laurenz, Helena and Flora were responsible for the meat. They had started to prepare it the evening before while Lia and I made our dessert. Biscuits layered with yoghurt and whipped cream as well as frozen berries and brown sugar on top. The evening of the 23rd, countless people were running around in the mess room, the library or elsewhere. One would think that four weeks of time should be enough to make a present. Clearly not! The evening before Christmas was filled with hammering, concentrated faces and hectic whispers – in order to bring in another opinion on how to do what concerning the presents, as everyone on board was responsible to make a present for someone random on board. Everyone, without a doubt, poured so much effort into designing something special. The presents were somewhat different from the ones you get at home. Everything was made by hand and everyone got something that matched them and their personality. Another thing: It didn’t matter how expensive the material was, as the message and thoughts behind your little surprise counted way more. Everyone invested such an amount of time. And it sometimes felt like a never-ending process. But in the end, it was worth it. Why? You’ll find out later!
Back to our day. Once we had finished our jobs, we got ready. Showered, brushed our teeth, styled our hair and dressed up. Most of us had brought a shirt or dress especially for Christmas. At 5 o’clock, everyone made their way to the quarter deck. The sun wasn’t yet setting, but brought a golden, warm light to all our smiling faces. And then Christmas really started. While everyone at home was probably watching TV, reading or getting ready for bed, we sang. ‘We wish you a merry Christmas’, ‘Silent night, holy night’ and ‘Hallelujah’ let everyone remember home, something you easily forget here. Some people cried, as they deeply felt the music which brought back distant memories from our loved ones. In these moments, I felt connected with the people here but also with my mom, dad and sister at home. After a beautiful beginning, a speech from Ruth and a minute of silence, we all shared an anti-alcoholic drink which had been prepared by our captain and three students. We all cheered and enjoyed the special taste. We then made our way to the main deck, where the first course was served: melon with cheese. Everyone chatted with each other about various topics. Later on, we got to see the result of hours of stress and preparations: The meat was served. Everyone who tried it loved it! After eating, we returned to the quarter deck. We’d now exchange presents! Jeanne was responsible for handing them out. Two persons at a time had to come to the front of the semi-circle in order to open up their present. The most beautiful moments of the evening, if you ask me! Seeing everyone so happy that they got to open something, even though we’re at sea. The gift exchange ended and finally our dessert was served. Enormous portions of it, as it was Christmas Eve, after all! With that, the evening slowly but surely came to an end.
Christmas was so different than at home. For me, it was a bit weird, as I often thought of my sister and what she was doing at home right now. But in the end, celebrating with my second family was beautiful, too. I’ll always remember this Christmas, that’s for sure.
PS: Mum, Dad, Heidi, I hope you had a merry Christmas! I for sure did. I love you!