We celebrate Christmas at Ama Ghar even though most of the children are from Hindu or Buddhist cultural backgrounds – we all enjoy it as a celebration of peace and of giving to others. And of course the children enjoy the cookies, decorations and stockings full of small toys and candy that everyone receives.
This has been a year of change especially for our celebrations. The two earthquakes and now the five month blockade affected our Teej, Dashain and Tihar and Christmas schedule. Bonnie Auntie was in Singapore for Christmas – the first Christmas she has missed in 13 years – and the Swiss family who planned to join us, the Mosers, had their flights changed so they couldn’t come until after the New Year, bearing Christmas goodies from Switzerland.
But the Ama Ghar children took it all in stride and took great joy in celebrating with their brothers and sisters, Aunties and Uncles. We are especially proud of our older girls, who had the idea of everyone making green hands cut from paper to make leaves, and the result was a wonderfully textured leafy paper Christmas tree.
Our 13 new children celebrated their first Christmas with cookie baking and decorating and of course the great finale of eating cookies covered in all forms of sugar, along with a Merry Christmas cake donated by Rob Uncle! Like all Christmases, the more little ones you have the more fun it is.
We hope all of our Ama Ghar family had a wonderful Holiday Season and we all wish for a Happy and Prosperous New Year.