Looking for Christmas

I think I went looking for Christmas today.  Regan, Rowan and I went into PV to Christmas shop.  We made it to the large shopping mall, which looked like any other shopping mall in the states.  It was full of beautiful Christmas decorations , music, stores advertising Feliz Navidad.  There is a big store similar to a very large Macy's called Liverpool, that was just nice to walk around in.  We had ice cream and checked out the stores but didn't buy anything.  We spent quite a large part of the day between The Mall, Costco, Walmart and Home Depot.  We picked up a couple of small gifts at Costco and Walmart and a few other items on our list and headed back to Sayulita.  I really didn't find what I was looking for.

Christmas is alive and well in Mexico.  Weeks ago, I noticed Christmas lights blinking outside a very tiny, dirty cement block home that didn't even appear to have electricity.  We were coming back from our first trip to La Lanca and it was just after sunset.  The sky was still slightly pink, and the trees were starting to fill with  birds.  Nothing about that moment felt like Christmas until I spotted that little house.  It made me think about how a few twinkling lights could mean the same thing on the outskirts of Sayulita as it does in Everett.  Since then there have been more and more decorations appearing in the small tiendas  and on homes.  The decorations are fairly simple but they are all around town.  Even the beach vendors are in on it, just sitting on the beach, the decorations come to you.

So the question is.........why can't I find the Christmas spirit?  All I can come up with is that the familiar traditions of the season are not here.  I miss the cozy weather, the gatherings, the Christmas program, the smell of a pine tree, a warm fire,  peppermint mochas........but I think mostly I miss my peeps.