Pedram Bani Asadi, is the Chair of the Student Ambassador Group at UKCISA and a #WeAreInternational Student Ambassador. He studied his Undergraduate degree at the University of Leicester and his Postgraduate degree at the University of Law. He shares his experiences of spending Christmas away from family and advice for international students who are facing the same this holiday break.
I love celebrating Christmas! The idea of being together, setting up a Christmas tree and giving each other gifts this Winter is a wonderful idea and everyone deserves to have such a moment with their loved ones no matter their culture or religion. Unfortunately, some do not get the chance to celebrate Christmas due to the restrictions of the passport that they hold.
I am spending Christmas at home because the process of getting a Schengen Visa is long and expensive. My parents live in Sweden and I have a Middle Eastern passport, so I would need a Schengen Visa to be able to see them. I have applied previously for a Schengen visa and the process requires a great deal of documents and an in person trip to London. Once I had to pay £50 extra to print a copy of my travel insurance. The whole process last time took me many hours and made me feel unwanted and a burden. Going through this process each time just to see my family makes the prospect of being alone during Christmas a fine proposition. If Kevin from Home Alone had to go through this process just to travel with his family, I think he would rather spend Christmas with the thieves, Harry and Marv.
My family are understandably sad that I won’t be spending the holidays with them, but I remind them that we are going through with this for a better life, one where my children and their grandchildren would never have to be alone in Christmas. A Christmas with delicious food, celebrating in the warm embrace of their parents, their grandparents, their dog and cat and a 20 foot Christmas tree. Under it, as many Christmas presents as the eye can see. It will be all okay, we will have a Christmas like that soon.
I spent Christmas away during my first year of University. It was one of the loneliest times of my life. Starting university away from home, I found creating friendships to be the cure to my lack of support network. I thrived with the friends I have made during freshers and created unforgettable memories with them. During Christmas, most of the students went back home and I found myself alone in student accommodation for nearly a month. No one else in my hall or my building. That was a very difficult moment for me, reminiscing about good memories and eagerly awaiting for Christmas to finish so I could see my friends again. The tree during a lonely Christmas doesn’t shine so bright, family and loved ones are what make Christmas merry.
In comparison, my Christmas is much more merrier this time around because I will be spending it with the love of my life, my partner, Huma. She is my light. Together we will put ornaments up our Christmas tree and watch Christmas movies under a cuddly warm blanket with snacks and wonderful food that we cooked together.
I am not the biggest fan of cranberry sauce or roasted potatoes so we will make our own version of the Christmas dinner. I admit, It will not be the healthiest. It might include Santa’s spicy hot wings, a gingerbread cola float and loaded fries in the shape of a Christmas tree. My mom will not be happy with all of this fast food, so we will make sure to have some lettuce in our festive burger stack. A healthy Christmas meal!
One of my favourite traditions from Iran is reading a book of poetry from famous Persian poets during the longest night of the year (around December 21). We gather and read poetry, especially from Hafez, and share the symbolic meanings of his verses.
This tradition is called “Fal-e Hafez”. It involves opening his divan (collection of poetry) to a random page to seek guidance or inspiration. Adding this tradition to my Christmas allows me to introduce my partner to the beautiful language of Farsi and keep in touch with the beauty of Persian culture, a culture older than any civilization in the western world.
I will miss playing with my silly sister who I love to annoy, my moms deep hugs and delicious (and much healthier) cooking, my dads advice and guidance on life and the goofiest little dog by the name of Satchi.
So, if you’re spending Christmas away from family and friends this year, ask if you can spend Christmas with the family of your friends. If alone during Christmas make sure to still do the actions you would have done when celebrating it with your family such as visiting the Christmas market and buying yourself a large Christmas tree. Don’t forget to beautifully wrap your presents and place them under the tree because you deserve the largest presents this Christmas, you are so brave for sacrificing what you had at home to spent it in a foreign place, you deserve to make this place your home and most importantly, you deserve to be loved. Hope you have a merry Christmas and don’t forget at the very least, Santa is always with you!
