Traveling on Christmas is a first for me. And it was interesting being in Hong Kong for the day, where the holiday is not widely celebrated.

What a change from Africa. Hong Kong is, in no particular order: efficient, vertical, crowded, reserved, futuristic, soft spoken, efficient, and divided. Did I mention Hong Kong is efficient? Definitely a surreal experience “celebrating” the most important festival from my culture, but utterly lacking in the most important thing, which only needs one word.

Family. To me Christmas is about family. I was never allowed to hang out with friends or anyone else on Christmas, because it was a day dedicated to family. Yes there’s the gifts and (thankfully not in my family) the singing and the (definitely in my family) drinking, but it all comes down to being with family.

I FaceTimed with mine today and was overjoyed to see their faces, but of course it wasn’t the same. As our world becomes more connected and more centered around technology and innovation, I think it’s important to remember the old school stuff too, the original face time.

Christmas, in my culture and in my family, is the premier event for such. It’s now popular in our culture to bemoan the chore, the obligation, of seeing your family over the holidays, but don’t fall into that pitfall. Be thankful you have a family to go to. Many don’t.

Bring your A game to the premier event and exult in that true face time. Christmas has remained a part of our culture for a long time, for many reasons, but the main one is because it delivers on what it promises, if you do the above: joy.