HOLIDAYS IN DHAKA

my little christmas tree, with little santa claus and his harley davidson ride

Christmas is a much celebrated day in the Philippines and in my family, thus celebrating Christmas for the first time without anyone from my family and in a hardcore Muslim country was totally a different experience.

Christmas tree @ a friend's house, Bamboo Shoot, Nando's

The day passed like just any ordinary day. There are few Christmas trimmings in the shops and there is no Christmas rush. No gift giving and no giddy feeling of Christmas time. It was just simply an ordinary day, with the slightest happiness that I feel with the thought that I’m going to celebrate Christmas with friends. There are lot of things that I missed so much last Holiday, the Simbang Gabi even if I never completed one, my family even if ours is far from perfect family, the simple and festive non-stop eat-all-you-can Noche Buena & Christmas lunches /snacks with friends and relatives, the last minute shopping, and the fireworks display on New Year’s Eve. Really, there is no place like home….


But since I can’t do anything with the situation, (I can’t leave the country coz I just got my Visa and passport last week), I have to do with what I have. I may not have the simple and festive Noche Buena that I’m used to, but I can adapt or try other traditions and share my own traditions too. And what is Christmas without “sweet ham” right? It’s not readily available here as pork is not available in groceries or any public market. So, I search the recipe for sweet ham and did it myself. And the verdict: it looks like ham and it tasted like ham.

small gathering after the Christmas Eve Mass

I attended Christmas Eve Mass at Banani and meet some friends there. After the mass, there was a small gathering at the church yard. Cakes, breads, drinks and other pica-pica are served. There are lots of Filipinos there too, and even the Ambassadress was there. Too bad I wasn’t able to take more pictures of the little gathering. One thing I noticed here is that I feel so safe and at home whenever I’m at the Church grounds. Everyone seems to be so friendly, maybe because it’s a small community that’s why people almost knew everyone, similar to private subdivisions in the Philippines.

After eating some cakes and saying “hellos” and greeting friends, we went home and have some simple Christmas dinner Bangladeshi style, and again, I forgot to take pictures. And drank some tequila which made me a little tipsy. I received a black saree, a jewelry set and a box of chocolates as a gift, yihii! The following day, we ate the sweet ham that I made, it was okay and it can pass as the commercial ones hehehe!


After Christmas, I am so busy with the DITF 2009 set up already, that I have to literally celebrate New Year’s Eve at the DITF Grounds with my staff and colleague since the following day will be the opening of the fair.
New Year’s Eve celebration here means going to the clubs and restaurants and other sponsored parties at the hotel and elsewhere. There are no funfair, no fireworks, none at all. But it was okay anyway, I’m just so glad that I was able to finish the set up on time and well, we received good comments about it (another entry for this).


January 1, of course is a working day, but I was able to spend the day with friends again and on the following weekend. I thank God for all this wonderful friends… Another year ahead, praying that this will be another fruitful one. Happy New Year everyone!