For many internationals who work or study at Radboud University, Christmas means a long trip home. Three of them talk about how they spend their holiday and why it’s important to them to return back home.

‘I look out over the lake and I see the mountains’

Alan Allache (25) started his master’s degree at Radboud University in February. Originally, he is from Switzerland. His family lives on a farm near Lausanne, which is located north of Lake Geneva. He’s staying there for three weeks.

‘My parents picked me up from the station. I call my family and friends a lot when I’m in the Netherlands. But I do get happy when I see them in person again. My brothers and sister all have plans with their partners during Christmas. So we celebrated it early. We had a meat fondue and opened presents together. On Christmas Day itself, I will spend some time with a few of my closest friends that I haven’t seen in a while.’

‘Christmas here is not that different from how it is in the Netherlands. Saint Nicholas Day is a big event here, just like Sinterklaas in the Netherlands. So Christmas is the second big event in December. The towns here are a lot smaller and there’s not much decoration. But I look out over the lake and I see the mountains. You can see so far over the valley. It’s beautiful.’

‘I also really want to go skiing. It’s a popular Swiss activity. On Christmas, the slopes are extra full. We live less than an hour from the ski resort here, so I usually go a lot. The après-ski party is also a lot of fun. I’m going with a friend on the 26th. I’m really looking forward to that.’

‘For New Year’s, I’m seeing a friend who lives in the mountains near Grenoble, in France. We’ll just read and relax, maybe study a little.’

‘On boxing day everyone goes to the local pub’

Harriet Yates (27) has been in Nijmegen for three and a half years, to work on her PhD in philosophy of language and experimental linguistics. But every Christmas, she flies back to the United Kingdom. This year, she’s staying there for eleven days.

‘I really feel at home in the Netherlands. But I’ve never spent Christmas there. My boyfriend lives in London, and it’s a good opportunity to see each other again. Together, we go to Manchester and Newcastle, to see our families.’

‘On Christmas Eve, we have a big dinner with my family. And during Christmas day, we just have some downtime and hang out. On Boxing Day, the 26^th, the entire family comes over to my parents’ place. Everyone brings leftovers from their own meals from the day before and we put it all together. We have a few bottles of prosecco, play games and eat a lot.’

‘There’s a lot more tradition here around what a Christmas meal is compared to the Netherlands. I’m always surprised when my Dutch friends tell me they do the dinner with the little pans on the tabletop grill: gourmetten. That is so strange to me. Growing up in the UK, the menu is very set: you will have turkey and roast potatoes. We eat nothing else for three days.’

‘All my friends I grew up with are also travelling home. On Boxing Day everyone goes to the local pub, and I run into people I haven’t seen in a long time. Everyone comes back home, no matter where they’ve moved to.’

‘My boyfriend and I live far apart. We try to spend as much time together as we can. But especially at Christmas it feels extra special to spend time together. I also don’t see my family much. I’m looking forward to spending time with them.’

‘The first time I saw snow, I felt like I was in a Disney film’

Student Kurt Zammit has spent part of his bachelor’s program in Nijmegen and came back for his master’s, which he started this September. For Christmas, he’s flown back to his home in the centre of Malta, where he’s staying for a month.

‘For Christmas Day, I’m going over to my girlfriend’s grandmother’s house. There’s a very pretty patio outside where we can gather. We’re also celebrating my brother’s birthday that day. So we’re moving back and forth between houses and families a lot.’

‘Christmas here is a very big deal. The whole family comes over: aunts, uncles, cousins. It’s mostly about meeting the family and cooking the biggest steak. I grew up with Christmas as an important family ritual. It’s normal for people who are abroad to touch base during Christmas. I couldn’t imagine not going home for it.’

‘People here also take Christmas decorations very seriously. In the Netherlands, you’ll see one or two houses with some lights. In Malta, the entire street is lit up. There isn’t a house without some Christmas lights or decorations. The other day, I saw a car driving by with a sleigh attached to it. On the sleigh was a man dressed up as Santa Claus who was dancing to some music.’

‘There are also a lot of Christmas markets here. I’m going to a really big one in the capital city, Valletta, where they have set up a huge Ferris wheel and an ice-skating rink.’

‘In movies, there’s always snow during Christmas. The first time I saw snow in real life, I felt like I was in a Disney film. But being back home, I look out my window and see the sun. It’s 17 degrees outside. It’s a nice change from the cold and cloudy weather in the Netherlands. I can finally see my own shadow again.’