Festive mood: where to go if you meet Christmas alone

One of the most favorite holidays of the Americans is approaching - Christmas. The anticipation of this day is felt at almost every step: in garlands sparkling on the streets, decorated with lights of private houses, homemade nativity scenes in the courtyards of churches and eternal Christmas trees, meeting us in all public places - from hotels to shopping centers.

Фото: Depositphotos

Those who have recently arrived from the post-Soviet republics or have not yet managed to imbue local traditions also feel this joy - perhaps the only difference is that they associate it with the approach of their favorite New Year's childhood holiday.

Holiday loneliness

But among them there are those who have not yet managed to make close friends in the new country, so far cannot afford to bring relatives to the United States or have not yet met their soul mate. For such people, the approach of the holidays, on the contrary, can become a reason for sadness and will allow you to feel your loneliness even more.

Perhaps, as the holidays begin, you will suddenly realize that all of your American acquaintances have already found suitable companies, clear plans and agreements have developed, where you no longer have a place. Perhaps they will go with their families to the mountains or to one of the local resort towns, or many relatives will come to them from the other coast.

In any case, all of them, without saying a word, will be surrounded by close people and cozy places for celebration, and all your hopes for a joint holiday will be destroyed. And the most sad thing is to understand that even if you started to prepare for the New Year since last January, the result would be about the same.

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You console yourself with the fact that you do not need to put a Christmas tree and pointlessly climb the apartment, hanging it with garlands. You tell yourself that this is a childish and stupid occupation, a tribute to the ridiculous tradition from which you are completely free.

But the closer the cherished date is, the more sadness and even despair rolls over you - are you really going to have to celebrate this New Year alone? Looking at the holiday fuss surrounding you, you feel that you are content only with its echoes, understanding that a miracle will not happen in your life again.

If this story is about you, we can give you some simple tips to help you not only fully experience the atmosphere of a Christmas or New Year miracle this winter, but also, perhaps, make new friends.

Waiting for a miracle

Firstly, it’s important to know that in the USA the entire period from Thanksgiving to Christmas is a very special time during which solemn events and festivals dedicated to the upcoming holiday take place almost every day in the vast majority of cities.

One of the main celebrations, reminding Americans of the approaching Christmas, is, of course, the lighting of lights on the main Christmas tree of the city. In this case, as a Christmas tree, or rather, a Christmas tree (Christmas tree), can be anything - from a real huge spruce to a sprawling maple. However, maples are likely to remain the destiny of small towns, while in major US cities, the festive tree is almost always a Christmas tree.

The ritual of its ignition is a special city holiday, which the Americans are trying to stretch as long as possible. Starting on one of the December days, it is usually repeated every evening until the New Year. Finding the nearest holiday of lighting the lights is very simple: just drive the tree lighting keywords on social networks (for example, Facebook) and choose any event that suits you, a convenient date.

Фото: Depositphotos

In small American towns, where you can still see a touching combination of beauty, comfort and a patriarchal way of life, lighting of festive garlands is not just a ritual, but a special event in which the whole city seeks to participate. Such Christmas parades are prepared in advance, and they become real shows.

This is really a celebration of the whole city, and you can be sure: if you really want joy, the general feeling of happiness will surely be passed on to you. It is not difficult to find such events - it is enough to use the already mentioned words tree lighting or Christmas parade in a search engine. By the way, in some cities the parade and the lighting of lights on the Christmas tree are held on different days, which gives even more reasons for fun.

Well, of course, you can always come to the rescue specialized siteslisting all the major holiday events in your area.

Participation in a miracle

If you want to not only observe the holiday from the outside, but also to participate in it yourself, such opportunities are also available. The only thing that you should start their search is not on the eve of the holiday, but much earlier. Before Christmas and New Year, as a rule, a lot of workshops are held that allow, for example, making Christmas tree decorations with your own hands, preparing a holiday for a nursing home, helping to fulfill a cherished wish of a sick child, and so on.

Yes, perhaps this does not look like a feast with olivier familiar to you, but, on the other hand, New Year and Christmas are a time of miracles. These are holidays from which you expect something unusual, that which will become a symbol of happy changes, and not just a repetition of the usual banalities from year to year.

In short, if you feel the strength to actively spend the holidays, you can look for opportunities on the site Hands onspecifically dedicated to “one-day volunteering” and offering specific activities for every day where volunteer assistance is needed.

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For example, Hands On in the Bay Area represents calendarwhere the day, time and place of the event are clearly indicated, as well as the type of assistance required. Another way to find the point of application for your desire to do good deeds is to look for things to do groups and indicate the name of the city that interests you. Closer to the holidays there will probably be a lot of interesting information.

Festive party

And finally, it is absolutely not necessary to sit alone at home on Christmas or New Year's Eve. Despite the fact that these holidays are considered family holidays, festive parties are usually held in the USA, for which it is only important to manage to buy a ticket on time. The Russian-speaking diaspora organizes special New Year's Evethat can save you from excruciating loneliness on a holiday. Finding them is very simple: just drive the phrase Russian New Year into the search engines (options with a different city name are possible).

If you do not want to celebrate New Year or Christmas surrounded by compatriots, just look for events suitable for you with the code words Christmas Party or New Year Party - you yourself will be surprised how many opportunities you can find. Well, if you are not a fan of noisy and expensive parties, you can always visit chamber concerts of Christmas music - not only in philharmonic societies or concert halls, but also in American churches. There they can sometimes take place right on Christmas Day and are much cheaper than professional concerts.

In a word, no matter how trite it may sound, but how your holiday will be depends only on you, and not on how much time you live in the United States. To find out about holidays, cultural events and entertainment at any time of the year, just go to the “The calendar»On the Forum Daily website and select the city closest to you (San Francisco, New York, Miami or Los Angeles), as well as the date you are interested in.

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