Spending Christmas away from home

From Kolkata to Leeds

For someone like me who grew up in the vibrant chaos of Kolkata, Christmas has always been a festival of warmth, community, and endless cheer. The streets of Park Street were illuminated with, as we often liked to joke about, ‘all the lights in the world’ and were often jam-packed with all the people who spend their Christmas Eve there, resulting in long queues outside the restaurants and streets filled with the loud and cheerful crowd. Vendors and stalls line the streets just for the day along with the churches being illuminated with ethereal light cast by all the candles placed by the people. Yet a year ago, life, some fairly good grades and an urge to start accomplishing my goals brought me to the much colder streets of Leeds where I celebrated my very first Christmas away from home.

Adjusting to a new festive landscape

Leeds with its brisk winter air and cosy atmosphere, has its own way of celebrating the festive season. The city transforms into its own Christmas wonderland with sparkling decorations, a bustling Christmas market, and ice-skating rinks. Yet, amidst all this, I couldn’t help but feel homesick. The absence of family and the usual warmth (literally) made me realise that I am indeed thousands of kilometres away from home, although it also offered the opportunity to experience and embrace a new kind of Christmas.

The Christmas Spirit of Leeds

It would be ridiculous to talk about Christmas in Leeds without mentioning the Christmas markets. Undoubtedly a must-visit to anyone and everyone who’s new to Leeds or even UK in general, and it takes place across several towns and cities such as London, Leeds, York, etc. The aroma of mulled wine, hot chocolate and the food stalls entices the people in, which leads to the revelation of not just food and drinks but also game stalls along with quite a few rides, some of which are not for the faint hearts, and all-time favourite recommendation of mine, the ice rink.

Another must visit would the Trinity and the Corn Exchange shopping, being perhaps the most popular shopping centres in Leeds. Every festive season you would see the centres illuminated with Christmas decorations along with several stores running a number of sales (if any of you are into festive shopping as much as me) on clothes, shoes, home products, etc. For anyone who’s new to Leeds, the Trinity Kitchen especially is something I would consider a ‘heaven’ for all the foodies.

Plans for this Christmas

For this year, I have already visited the Christmas markets of both Leeds and York, York being a historical city I would recommend absolutely everyone as the whole city twinkles with the festive lights, along with a must visit Christmas market with a delicious range of food and drinks and just so many fun things to do whether you’re going solo or with friends. Further on I plan on visiting the church with a friend and for the very first time I would be experiencing the much heard of Christmas carols as I quote my friend “It’s bound to make anyone feel in the spirit”. Admittedly I don’t have a lot of plans yet for this Christmas but I have always been someone who makes plans at the very last minute so fingers crossed that this festive season would be even better than last year’s.

Finding Familiarity in the Unfamiliar

While I do miss Kolkata’s bustling streets along with the brightly lit Park Street, somehow since last September Leeds has become what we call ‘home away from home’ for me. This city has taught me a life-long lesson in adaptability and gratitude. Whilst it isn’t and would never be the same as celebrating at home, it is no less special. It introduced me to many new cultures and traditions as I celebrate with my friends, allowing me to blend some of my own traditions along with experiencing something new but equally exciting.

So, for anyone spending Christmas away from home, my advice would be to get out of your comfort zone and start exploring. The city of Leeds is filled with a lot of hidden gems anyways so whether you plan your holidays beforehand or on the spot, these small recommendations that I have given above would be some nice places to start or even a stroll along the cheerful streets of City Square or the quietness of Headingley, its bound to make you feel the warmth of the joyous season despite the absolutely freezing temperature according to me.