‘Twas The Night Before Christmas

Finally it was Christmas time and Maria Jesus had a tradition that she had done for years. The maids had arrived super early the morning or Christmas Eve, and the preparations for the evening meal began. Even we, the students got involved in the preparation. We were given a task in the early evening. We had to go out and “find” someone who had no place to go for Christmas Eve dinner, and bring them back to the house. We, the Americans and Canadian looked at her like she was insane! She insisted and said we couldn’t come back without a guest. We decided to split up because it would be intimidating for a gang of 4 to descend upon a person and insist they come for dinner. I went to a shopping center, about 2 minutes from the apartment. Madrid was decked out in all it’s splendor. Everything was lit up and lovely. I saw a woman just walking looking in decorated store windows. I approached her and asked in Spanish if she was lost! She tried to answer, but didn’t speak Spanish. I then asked her in English. Her face broke into a big smile. She was American, from Lincoln, Nebraska. She was traveling alone. She said she preferred it that way. She had gotten to Madrid that morning and never thought that everything would close up on Christmas Eve. I invited her to dinner and without hesitation she accepted.

When I brought her back to the apartment, I was shocked that we all found a Christmas Eve orphan. I couldn’t imagine doing that in New York.

Our dinner was a banquet. I think Maria Jesus used all the rent money she collected from us in that one evening.

She even had the maids make a bathtub full of Sangria! Yep, in the bathtub. I hope the alcohol killed any germs that might have been in the tub.

There was no tree in the apartment, no room for one eventhough the place was huge. There didn’t seem to be a custom of gift giving, but all the girls chipped in and gave Maria Jesus a lovely locket on a gold chain.

In the morning, outside the apartment door was a pair of old slippers with bags of cookies for everyone in the apartment.