Merry Christmas🎄!

Whether you found presents by your pillow this morning, are dragging yourself to school before winter break, are young couples out at the Christmas market, or are gloomy adults working like me, I hope you’re all enjoying your own unique Christmas.

Here in Nagoya, the sky is a bit overcast—you could say it’s typical winter weather. But people carrying what look like gift bags or holding cakes are happily coming and going, making even the gloomy sky feel Christmassy.

Speaking of Christmas gifts, you know “The Gift of the Magi,” right?

It’s the story of the poor couple, James Dillingham Young and his wife, trying to scrape together money to buy each other Christmas presents.

Jim, the husband, treasured the pocket watch passed down from his grandfather to his father and then to him. Della, his wife, had beautiful hair that reached below her knees, and that too was a treasure for the couple.

Della cut off her hair and sold it to buy a platinum chain for her husband’s gold pocket watch as his present. Meanwhile, Jim pawns his treasured pocket watch to buy the tortoiseshell comb his wife had long desired as a gift for her.

When they exchange gifts, the pocket watch Della bought is no longer in her husband’s possession, and the hair that Jim’s tortoiseshell comb was meant to adorn is already gone.

In the end, their gifts were wasted, but the couple received each other’s “thoughtfulness” as the true gift. The story concludes that “this seemingly foolish misunderstanding was the wisest act of all.”

I was also choosing a gift the other day. It was a time filled with all sorts of worries—imagining the recipient’s face and reaction, wondering, “Will they like this?” Will they like this?“ It’s a time full of agonizing over details, and to an outsider, I’m probably just a suspicious-looking lady with a sour expression lol. It would be wonderful if, like in ”The Gift of the Magi,” the important feelings for the recipient could be delivered along with the gift. But that time spent imagining all sorts of things about the person I’m giving to—while it’s agonizing for the giver, I actually kind of like it. It feels like receiving a gift of precious time in its own way.

So, to all of you finding presents by your pillows today and making a big fuss—well then… let’s give Santa (?) the gift of your smiling face when you receive it ✨.

Well then, Merry Christmas🎄!