Yes, we of course do. Every corner, every street, every festive decoration reminds us about this special time of the year. In the title of this post I changed (intentionally) words from the most beautiful song for me „Do They Know It’s Christmas?” written in 1984 (four years before I was born) by Bob Geldof & Midge Ure in reaction to reports of the 1983-1985 famine in Ethiopia. We know that Christmas is coming but if our hearts know about it? We’re extremely busy these days, we often forget about others, about the world outside our windows, about true meaning of Christmas and life. For me this special time is also about reflection. Since I remember during Christmas time in between celebration, I used to hidden for a moment and observe the world outside from behind the curtain. I was looking for strangers and wondered if they have someone to celebrate together. I’m lucky that I have a huge family, even after my dad died we used to celebrate together and there was always a lot of laugh and joy. This year my family from around the world came to Paris to spend this precious time together with our friends and beloved ones. My parents were always open for people. I remember when my dad was still alive, he invited strangers to spend Christmas together. This was a lonely, older couple that missed they flight connection and my dad spotted them at the airport when he came from one of his business travels. It was truly magical time. What’s amazing till these days we are friends with the family of those people. Unfortunately they died a couple of years ago but the memories are still alive. And I think that's what matter the most during Christmas - a human being. Nobody’s perfect but we are stronger together.

Love & Peace.

Marta