15/12/2025
my favourite christmas tradition 🩰
Living far away from family is hard year-round, but it hits differently around the holidays. Christmas becomes very nostalgic, and at times quietly heavy, when you’re not at home decorating cookies, wearing matching pajamas, watching Christmas movies, and cooking that one dish your whole family loves.
But when I go to the ballet, although still far away from them, sitting in the theatre makes me feel closer. It transports me right back to the very first time my parents took me, to watch my sister dance. Through the years, I watched her perform almost every part in The Nutcracker.
I can smell the flowers my dad brought her, the sweet scent lingering through the show. I feel that familiar mix of embarrassment and immense pride settle in my stomach as I hear my mom’s unmistakably-her loud cheers every time my sister steps on stage. My little brother, in his button-up, proudly posing next to her after the show, while she’s still in her ballet dress.
It’s a beautiful reminder of how art can collapse distance, how it can hold people together even when they’re far apart.
Every time I go to the ballet, my family is with me. No matter how far. My sister on stage, my family beside me.
And that’s why this tradition is my favourite of all. 🤍