Following on from Sha’Tara’s essay about the way this month’s celebrations have strayed from the teachings of the man whose birth they are supposed to commemorate, I had intended posting a satirical piece along the same lines that I wrote a couple of Christmases ago. In fact, I see that I did post it last December. So all I need to do today is provide a link to that piece: https://franklparker.com/2015/12/18/youre-fired-a-christmas-fable/
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I love this. I do have fond memories of Christmas when I was a kid. We didn’t have money, so my brother and I were unspoiled. During the Christmas season we’d make treats for each other and then watch a movie together as a family. My dad would drive us around to look at Christmas lights on one night every year. I even loved the orange in the toe of the stocking. That was one of my favorite gifts every year. I loved oranges, and they were too expensive to buy for regular snacking. I cherished these memories. It was later in life when we became well-off and even now as I have a very comfortable living that I find Christmas less enjoyable. The expectations, the expense of the gifts, and the stress depresses me sometimes. It just isn’t the same.
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Ah! The orange in the toe of the stocking! That and a few chocolate coins, a handful of nuts, at least some of which had been picked from hedgerows near by. And the Christmas cake and Christmas pudding we’d all helped to stir weeks before. Christmas decorations made from crepe paper or, even, sweet papers saved from the previous year. Being afraid to answer the question “what would you like for Christmas” because you knew that the thing you really wanted – a watch, a simple camera – was unaffordable.
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I just had an interesting re-read of your Christmas story, “You’re Fired” – makes sense.
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Yes – I noticed when I linked to it that you had commented last year – it surprised me as I didn’t think we’d been following each other that long!
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