Today’s highlight was, without question, the Christmas market at my youngest’s school. And when I say highlight, I mean full sensory experience, heart included. We arrived just in time for snowfall. Yes, it was artificial. Yes, we knew that. No, it didn’t make it any less magical. Snow is snow when it falls at the right moment.
We wandered from stall to stall, deliberately skipping lunch beforehand, because strategy matters in places like this. I had pork noodle from a stall run by the parent of one of the students which somehow made it taste warmer and more earnest. My husband went for a kebab. I had coffee from a café fully run by the students themselves as part of their entrepreneurship program, which made every sip feel hopeful. My husband opted for iced orange juice, because consistency is a personality trait.
It wasn’t just food. There were little trinkets, thoughtful knick-knacks, and cheerful clutters. Big brands showed up too McDonald’s, Teazzi, Tiramisu standing comfortably next to the students’ stalls, like grown-ups letting kids shine at the same table. Each house had its own booth, very Gryffindor-but-not-quite, and honestly, school spirit has never looked this festive.
And then there was the carousel. A real one. The kind you usually only see at amusement parks or night markets. Seeing it there, spinning gently in the middle of a school Christmas market, felt like someone decided joy should not be rationed.
There was also a performance stage, because of course there was. At 12:30, we watched a theatre production titled The Joy of Christmas. Performed by the students, sweet and endearing, it took place in the hall we usually sit in on Sunday for church. Today it transformed into a proper theatre proper seating, real lighting, a stage that felt serious in the best way. The play itself, A Grateful Reflection, moved between two timelines: the present, where the main character is married, and the past, back when she was still in school. Entertaining, reflective, and gently touching without trying too hard. I appreciated that.
After the show, we returned to the market, because one does not simply leave a Christmas market after one round. More snacks, food packed for my eldest, and a few more slow walks around. We were there with my friend Mbak Eva, and we also ran into Jason, her son, who was in charge of the entire Christmas market as the head of the entrepreneurship program. Watching young people take responsibility so seriously while still looking like they’re having fun is always a quiet reassurance about the future.
Being at the Christmas Market and watching the Christmas performance felt like a quiet kind of inner child healing for me. I didn’t grow up in a believing family, so what my daughter experienced today was something I never had at her age. I started dreaming about Christ when I was six, long before I even knew who He was. In junior high, I debated my religion teacher at a public school and was eventually told to leave the classroom. In senior high, I joined a Sunday extracurricular activity for one simple reason: it was held right next to a church, and I loved listening to people sing during worship. In college, my friends were always confused about whether they should send me a Lebaran card or a Christmas one. And the journey went on, until at twenty-two I finally found a legal way to become a Christian. So yes, being there today felt like hugging my seventeen-year-old self and whispering, you have a believer family now, and you get to celebrate Christmas too. 💖
At exactly 2 p.m., we headed home, slightly rushed but not stressed. We had an appointment with a banker who came all the way just to get a signature we had missed the day before. Timing, thankfully, was on our side everything wrapped up neatly before my husband’s 3 p.m. offline meeting.
Later in the afternoon, I showered and settled into the apartment. I read. I sat near the window. The breeze was kind, the sky unusually beautiful, like it knew it was doing a good job today. At 4 p.m., the Ranger Clean Sheet team arrived as they always do, restoring order while I stayed still.
It was, simply, a very good day.
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