I can't speak for anyone else in Shkoder, but I will give you my perspective of the Christmas season here.
At the end of November, they began decorating the center of the city for Christmas with lights, and typical Christmas decorations.
They also set up carnival rides and an ice skating rink in the center.
Individuals decorated their homes and businesses with lights and the like.
I don't know if it's because we don't have a TV, but I didn't feel advertised to one bit. Most of the stores here carry things for the necessities of life, so I don't know that there's so much shopping going on for an abundance of "perfect" gifts.
There is a type of shop here in Albania called a "Kancelari." These are places that can found throughout the different cities. They carry school, office, and art supplies. They offer copy and printer services, so this is where we go if we want something printed. They also typically sell a small variety of toys, generally cheap in nature.
Upon thinking about it, I don't know that most children in Albania grow up with the typical and standard toys that most American children grow up with: fine dolls, special train sets, bins full of tiny Lego pieces, etc.
The one large store here, called Jumbo, stocks a third of their store with seasonal items. Edward said that they had a lot in there for Christmas. I thought that he meant toys and gift items, but he said that it had a lot of holiday decorations.
The banner in this neighborhood means Merry (Gëzuar- guh zoo ar) Christmas (Krishtlindjen- Kreesht leendyeh, literally meaning Christbirth) and (dhe- they) New (E-eh Ri-ree) Year (veeteen).
I was out on Christmas Eve afternoon. I was in two grocery stores, and they were the busiest that I had ever seen. They had a lot of prepackaged cakes and fruit cakes that they had on display. We had already been given one as a gift from a friend. I saw someone purchasing several at a time. Perhaps this is what they do for each other. Perhaps they get together with their families and enjoy the day and a special meal with each other.
Prior to Christmas Eve day, I had not noticed any "Christmas rush." It costs so much to ship things to Albania, people aren't ordering things from the internet and having them shipped here. I don't think that the post office experienced an extra busy time during the month of December. I don't think that people are sending Christmas cards around as we do in America. After all, if you saw my last post, our mail carrier didn't look like he had much to deliver to other people on his bike, just one week before Christmas .
We invited a few people over and had some special foods prepared and planned. One friend came. We asked him a lot of questions about the traditions. I had forgotten the fact that Albania had spent decades under communist rule. They weren't able to celebrate publicly, but would privately. However, New Year's would always be celebrated openly.
The weather wasn't too cold, so after our guest left, we cleaned up, bundled up, and headed on a walk to the city center. We wanted the kids to be able to see the city lit up with decorative lights. They, of course, wanted to experience at least one of the rides.
There were a lot of people out in the city that evening, but it was actually quiet in a literal way. The police had the roads closed off to the center. Kids were having fun skating around on the small rink. Many temporary cafe huts were set up for the season, all in a row facing the government building, which is shown in the first photo of this post. In front of the cafes were small cafe tables with people quietly sitting around them with their drinks, talking with one another. I then noticed that in front of them a large mobile stage was set up. It looked like they were waiting for a performance of some sort.
The kids each chose which ride they wanted to try, and we split up into three groups. That was a cultural experience in itself! After paying for the tickets for the ride, there were no lines. When the ride stopped, the people waiting to get on rushed to try to get a seat. It seemed quite selfish. It was a surprise, but not completely, because sometimes people very boldly cut in line at the stores. It took several rotations before my kids managed to run fast enough to secure a bumper car. I instructed those first two kids sharing a car, "When the car stops and everyone is rushing out of their cars, you stay in until your siblings get to you!" That worked.
I will say that I have appreciated the calmness and quietness of the holiday season here in Shkoder. My eight year old said on Christmas Eve when he was in bed, "I don't really care if I get any presents. I'm content. I like to give gifts." I was amazed, and glad that he said this and feels that way. Some of our kids made gifts for each other and we had some simple gifts for them.
When it's all said and done, we of course want to be storing up treasures in heaven, where moths and rust do not destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal (Matthew 6:19-21).
You can check out our other works! If you like them, you can help us out by sharing our links on your social media accounts and asking your contacts to do the same! Thank you!
https://www.patreon.com/WarePublishing
https://www.waredesignworks.com
https://www.etsy.com/shop/waredesignworks
To follow us on Twitter and Instagram:
https://x.com/AmyJoyCarlton?t=Ohwl7Pf5LhWSzYG40USr2w&s=09
https://x.com/WarePublishing?s=09
https://www.instagram.com/waredesignworks/
To listen to different thoughts from Edward:
https://rumble.com/c/c-5501477/videos
https://youtube.com/@edwardcarlton?si=HUHHNoh5NX0hW-La
God bless you!
No comments:
Post a Comment