Dawning of a New Year in Madrid

On Sunday, Rocky and I buckled up in Row 7, locked our tray tables in the upright position and stuffed our personal belongings under the seat in front of us.  Our Iberia flight was waiting for the all-clear from the tower so we could fly from Boston to Madrid after spending a memorable week with our boys in Maine. We had pushed away from the gate a little late so we were waiting our turn behind a long line of other planes.

All of a sudden the flight attendants from the back of the plane started running to the front of the plane. There was a great deal of commotion and noise, not the kind of disruption passengers want on any flight. All of us were a bit nervous although we were still firmly on the ground. Had something happened in Business Class where all the flight attendants were congregating? Was there a plane malfunction? Were we going to be ushered off the flight?

We soon realized the Spanish flight attendants were celebrating the beginning of the New Year in Spain! It was 6 pm in Boston which meant it was midnight in Madrid. One of the crew members was playing the national countdown to the New Year on her cell phone. Although there was plenty of enthusiasm, there were no streamers, no champagne and not one grape to eat. In Spain the countdown is timed and televised so that every person eats 12 grapes, one grape at a time, in unison. No time for kissing until the grapes have been eaten! This is serious business.

When we booked our flights for New Year’s Eve, we were not expecting any special treatment from Iberia Airlines. If we arrived home on time with our luggage, we would be happy enough. However, as our friends and family members started talking about their own party plans, we hoped there might be a bit of a celebration on the flight.  Maybe an extra bag of pretzels and a sparkling drink? After all, we would be on the plane for both the countdown in Spain and Boston.

The clapping and yelling as Spain stepped into 2023 didn’t last long because we were cleared for take-off almost immediately. Maybe the crew had hoped to be in the air in time to serve a celebratory beverage but the hoopla died down quickly and they got right back to work. 2022 was now a distant memory.

As we neared Madrid the next morning, I happened to look at my phone right as I our kids were probably celebrating New Year’s Eve on the East Coast. The flight attendants had not announced anything or showed any excitement about midnight happening in Boston…after all, that was so last year for them! Nature did not dissapoint us though as we were greeted by the most spectacular sunrise as we landed. We arrived in time to witness the dawning of a new year.

New Year’s Day for me is usually a day for yoga, a delicious vegetarian brunch and an afternoon of putting Christmas decorations away. Rocky, aka Mr. Christmas, looks forward to putting up all of the decorations on Thanksgiving weekend and I count the days to take them all down on January 1. Don’t think of me as a Grinch, though! I enjoy the Christmas tree and lights and the cozy holiday mood Rocky creates in our place but by January 1st I’m ready for simplicity and order to return. I’m more of a minimalist than a Grinch.

In Spain, January 6th, also known as Epiphany, is a much bigger celebration than Christmas. In fact, all of the city-wide holiday decorations remain until the weekend after Epiphany. In Gijon, on January 5th, Los Reyes Magos (The Three Magi or Three Kings) arrive by Coast Guard trawler in the marina in front of our apartment and then climb into their own convertibles to parade through the crowds. The streets are lined with happy families awaiting the kings arrival with the excitement and anticipation the US kids show for Santa. When the Spanish children wake up on January 6th, the Kings will have left them each a special gift. Read more about this tradition in my blog post from last January.

My dad, a life-long minister, always feigned shock that I would take down the Christmas decorations before Jan. 6th. For years we bantered back and forth on New Year’s Day about the importance of leaving up the decorations or the need to put them away. Sharing the family stubbornness gene, neither of us ever gave in… until last year.

Dad was in the hospital throughout the Christmas season in 2021. Irrationally, I thought if I kept the decorations up, I could also keep him alive. I was able to talk to him on the phone on the 6th and assure him that I had finally come around to his way. I promised him that our Christmas decorations would stay up past Epiphany going forward. His voice was weak and very soft but I could hear a smile in the few words he was able to speak. I’m so grateful that I shared that message with him.  He died the next day while I was trying to get back to Kansas to say Good-bye to him.

This year, I feel no compulsion to take down the decorations yet. On Friday, the 6th, we will have friends over for lunch and go to another friend’s place for a party later that evening. Who knows? The tree might stay up till the 8th!  Rocky will be prompted to say, “Who are you?? And what have you done with my wife?”

Instead of feeling the need to tidy up, I’m holding on to the reminder of how much Dad cherished this season. I’m smiling through my tears and wondering why I was so attached to the clean-up process all of those years? Feels good to start the New Year with a bit more softness, and a bit less busy-ness. A true epiphany. Love you and miss you, Daddio!

Our Christmas Tree in Gijon 2022