The holidays are in full swing here in our cozy Istanbul home.  Our tree is trimmed, stockings are hung, cookies have been decorated and Chestnut, our sweet and mischievous little Elf, even found his way across the world to us. 

Initially the thought of spending the holidays here, in a country that doesn’t really celebrate Christmas, given that the majority of the population is Muslim, was a depressing one to me.  To say I love Christmas, is putting it mildly.  The decorations, lights, festive treats, and even every cheesy song played on repeat during the month of December, well, I can’t get enough of it.  I’m one of those people who keeps that station on ALL month long.  Guilty.  And though, since losing my dad, Christmas, nor any holiday for that matter, won’t ever be as bright or nearly what it once was, now that I have little ones, experiencing Christmas through their eyes is it’s own kind of special.

While I’m still missing being close to family and friends, and get a lump in my throat when I think about the reality that I’ll be spending my first ever Christmas away from “home,” I have to say the holiday season here has had some nice surprises. 

Some of the streets, stores and most malls (cheers to commercialism) started getting dressed up a week or so into December with trees, lights, and other similar decorations you might see in the states.  We’ve spotted singing polar bears in one of the malls and poncho clad snowmen in another.  There are even some Santas (or Noel Baba) here and there.  It’s not for Christmas or the birth of Jesus, of course, but they are New Year’s (Yeni Yıl) decorations., which seems to be a big deal here.  At Ikea and a few other yabanci (foreign) stores, I was delighted to hear some western Christmas classics playing on the loud speakers.  Taking a walk at night you’ll also notice apartments here and there with beautifully lit trees in the windows.  We’ve made a fun game of seeing who can spot one. 

As far as festive treats go, there are plenty to be found here too.  The smell of fresh roasted chestnuts among many street corners is enough to get one in the holiday spirit but there’s more.  My favorite winter time delight, mulled wine, is currently being served at various locations around town.  And in Kadıköy, a really neat little area on the Asian side of the city, we discovered a gem of a bakery, Sekerci Cafer Erol.  Besides being wonderfully decorated on the outside with giant candy canes, reindeer, and hundreds of little lights, the inside looks like Santa’s workshop of sweets.  Everything there looked delicious and they had lots of options for little stocking stuffers.  And if that isn’t enough, the churros dipped in chocolate next door were also a tasty delight.  Then there’s the imports like Starbucks and Le Pain Quotidien where you can also indulge in holiday lattes, cute gingerbread cookies, marshmallow snowmen or even candy canes (though, unfortunately, they’re bubble gum flavored.)  

If interested in attending Christmas mass, there’s also options for that in some of the churches spread out throughout the city.  To name a few, I have heard there are nice services at the British Consulate Chapel of Saint Helena near Taksim as well as Saint Etienne’s Latin Catholic Church in Yeşilköy.  Then at Saint Anthony of Padua or Sent Antuan Bazilikası, Istanbul’s largest Catholic church, also in Taksim, Christmas mass is offered in English, Italian, and Polish in addition to Turkish.  Even if you don’t attend Mass, the beautiful nativity scene is worth a visit to Saint Anthony’s.

Thanks to the expat community there have also been some fun holiday bazaars to attend here throughout the month.  Some of our favorites were the Handmade Istanbul Holiday Market at Saint Helena’s Chapel and the largest festival of it’s kind here, The IWI (International Women of Istanbul) Winter Festival at the Marriott Hotel Şişli.  Not only did we attend that one and indulge in all it had to offer, but I also featured lot’s of my holiday treats for sale.  It was quite an adventure, and the festival as a whole was a great success raising money for the IWI Social Responsibility Fund which helps those in need in the community here.

Here’s one more reason to ponder a trip to Turkey in December.  Fun fact, the origins of Saint Nicholas, aka Santa Claus, come from Patara, a small town in Turkey, not the North Pole.  As the story goes, Nicholas, a young boy with wealthy parents, became a Bishop in a nearby town, Myra, now called Demre.  When his parents died, he used his large inheritance to help those living in poverty around him.  In an effort to be anonymous he would drop bags of gold coins down chimneys.  He’d also give fruits and nuts to children for good behavior and helped the sick and elderly.  Eventually his good deeds were discovered and his generosity became known.  Years after his death he was named a saint and specifically patron saint of children and sailors.  His fame spread worldwide and the story adapted somewhat over the years to the Santa Claus we know and love today.  You can visit the church of Saint Nicholas in Demre today and view his original sarcophagus.  Special celebrations are held on December 6th, the feast day of Saint Nicholas.

All in all, Christmas time in Istanbul seems to have a little something for everyone if you look around  and explore town a bit.  While maybe not the first destination that comes to mind when planning a December vacation, it certainly shouldn’t be the last.