December feels different here. Lighter, calmer — and without the rush I used to know.
In the Netherlands, December was always a month of rituals for me: Sinterklaas, presents, crowded shopping streets and trolleys piled high as if nothing would be for sale for days. I never really connected to it — not to the hustle, not to the feeling that everything had to be perfect.
Here in Catalonia, December is gentler. The Christmas lights in the towns are simple and warm, small strings of light above narrow streets. And the beautiful thing is: the moment those lights are switched on is truly an event here.
Last Friday, almost the whole small town was gathered in the square. The mayor counted down, the lights came on all at once, there was music — and for a moment it felt as if Pineda de Mar was breathing in unison.
That only happens a few times a year. Pineda is a quiet, small town — a real place to live. In summer there are many tourists, but it is not a sleepy tourist resort like some places along the coast.
Most of the time it is calm and relaxed here. But during the Festa Major in August, on New Year’s Eve, and now when the Christmas lights are switched on, you suddenly see how many people really live here. The town fills with voices, families, children running between the lights.
Maybe I feel that softness even more because I live here. Barcelona is beautiful in December — the light shows, the colours, the atmosphere — but there it really does feel hectic. Here the rhythm stays gentle, and that suits me.
In the shops I see panettone and turrón, a bit of decoration, but no stress. People buy what they need, not for days in advance. Life keeps flowing quietly, even now — and that creates space.
Here, December is not a project.
It is a month in which small lights and a bit of breathing space are enough.