What I remember about Christmas: well, it was dark in Finland, like it always is this time of a year. No snow, clouds made the days gray. Even Inside the house the light was dim. My family sat one by one next to this lamp that used to belong to my great auntie. She turned 101 last summer just before she died. Now the lamp belongs to my father. It does remind me of her, the matriarch. She had no children of her own, and she always treasured the time spent together with us, her sister's family.