Day 567 - Kinda Christmas

We can't quite believe that on this 'kinda' Christmas we had to set an alarm, but it was a necessity if we wanted to talk to our families back home in New Zealand who had begun celebrating Christmas about the time we went to bed last night!! With no sign of Christmas here in McLeod Ganj it was nice to talk to our families and hear their voices full of Christmas joy.

Other than the wonderful few hours spent talking to home, the rest of the day passed without much Christmasness, though we did indulge in some Christmas spending, purchasing a small present each and attempting to match the bulging bellies we usually have at this time of the year!!!Our major excursion of the day was to the Tsuglagkhang complex that houses a couple of temples, the Dalai Lama's official residence, and a Tibetan museum. We spent a while ambling around, watching the goings-on of temple life - both calm and full of energy simultaneously. Afterwards we enlightened ourselves at the museum where the touching exhibits display the plight of the Tibetan people. We fought back tears while reading stories of nuns and monks "re-educated" against their religion; fathers and daughters making death-defying journeys over snowy passes to find refuge in India; and of the new lives being made here in India, Nepal, and throughout the world.
We then made a kora (ritual circuit) around the temples, peacefully passing prayer wheels and prayer rocks, trailing the faithful, and all the time having amazing views out over the valley.
For dinner we totally splurged thanks to a Christmas deposit from our families back home and dined on Italian ravioli, pizza, real coffee, and even waffles and chocolate brownies for dessert!!! To make sure we finished the day in Indian style we made a stop of the way home at a street stall for a glass of chai before retiring to bed!

Adlibing a Holi(ness) Christmas.