Christmas is a time for good wishes, especially from us to our loved ones and from them to us, our family, and our friends. The streets and houses are filled with lights and colorful decorations. From December 1st onwards, spaces and hearts are filled with that sparkle, that joy of sharing, of wishing others well. This will be my first Christmas without my parents and sisters. My mother died in March. She loved Christmas, especially setting up the nativity scene. My father died seven years ago. I no longer live in my country, Venezuela, nor can I travel there, as I did last year, so I won't be able to share this season with my sisters or my friends in Caracas.

There are people who don't like Christmas and usually get sad during this time of year. I must confess that for a few years I felt that way too. I felt sad at Christmas. Even though I really liked the bright decorations in the streets and the fireworks. Inside me, there wasn't much light. My best friend, Luis, for example, who also has his birthday on December 21, doesn't like Christmas. He's not one of those people who gets happy at Christmas. The spirit of the Grinch also appears in December. Even though, as I already told you, this will be my first Christmas without my mom, my sisters, and my closest friends, this weekend I asked Daniel, my partner, to find me a Christmas tree, and I put it up. Here, in this new home, where it's colder and I have fewer friends, it's much more important to have a Christmas tree, more lights, and good wishes.

This past weekend, there was also a Christmas market in the streets of the town where I live, and they turned on the lights. After going to the Christmas market, where they had churros with chocolate, a sweet treat typical of Spain at this time of year, Daniel and I met up with some young friends who had come from Hungary and a friend from the book club to have a glass of wine and watch the beautiful sunset. It was a lovely weekend to kick off the Christmas season.

Thank you for reading. My best wishes for Christmas Time. Since my native language is not English, I have had to rely on the Deepl.com platform to translate this article into English.