All is Calm, all is Bright

For several years, my parents and I have been celebrating Christmas alone and since our festivities don't include any noteworthy "performances" such as reading (from the Bible), singing or playing an instrument, it's very quiet and unspectacular these days. Eating dinner (always fondue - of the meat dipped in broth variety), followed by lighting the candles on the tree and a few sparklers for added effect with some traditional Christmas music playing in the background (vinyl in the old days, streaming courtesy of Google Play Music and Sonos more recently) and posing for a few photos, then opening presents, with the Licht ins Dunkel live broadcast in the background. A plate of cookies would be on the sofa table and my Mum and I would have a glass of wine. A few phone calls or WhatsApp messages take place in between reading new books. I usually prepare myself an espresso around 9 p.m. to stay awake for "Midnight" (actually 11 p.m.) mass to which my Mum and I walk through the cold. Pretty straightforward and copy/paste from recent years and yet very enjoyable, because all the tensions of previous Christmasses, some of them imported by other guests, have long gone. Sometimes, calm and predictable is also not the worst...