Christmas is over. At least the feasting and official celebrating part is over. But the heaps of Christmas cookies and received gifts remain. They will remain for a while longer to remind us of the joy and fun we had. God’s love is another thing that remains. It’s something that sustains us through the whole year until another Christmas comes around and we get to celebrate all over again. I love that. The fact that Christmas comes along faithfully every year, come rain or shine, snow or hail or cold or warmth (or in our case intense heat).

After celebrating last Christmas in London in the cold, being back in the Southern Hemisphere has been an adaptation. It’s been a hot Christmas like the ones I grew up with – where candles sometimes generate too much heat and electric lights are kinder to our poor overheated selves. But I still love candles and the lovely atmosphere they create.

Christmas to me has become less and less about the presents and more about the simple fact that Jesus came to save us. I like that. Not that I hate presents or anything, I still love giving them to people I care about, but I don’t feel cheated if I don’t receive anything. The joy remains. And to me, that is the best gift of Christmas. Real joy. Not the quick upsurge of excitement at receiving a gift which ceases as the hours drift by and not the “joy” that a car manufacturer speaks about in their advertisements. But the joy that fills us from the inside and the joy that withstands the tidal waves of life.

For my project this week I donned my brand new Santa-hat, but I couldn’t leave it on too long, as the day was simply too hot for it to be bearable. After adjusting the levels and adding a nice channel filter effect to the image, this is my final result.

Category: People and Portraits
Tags: 52-weeks, Christmas, heat, joy, self-portrait, south