- Lessons learned in childhood. Snooping for your presents leads to utter letdown on Christmas morning, no matter what the present is or how much you wanted it. That anticipation is often more rewarding than satisfaction is true for many parts of life.
- Finding out the truth about Santa may be a heartrending experience for a sensitive child. Maintaining the appearance of a continued belief in Santa may be a rewarding experience for a crafty child.
- Giving is a joy. Children should be taught it. Adults should learn that dropping your Canadian Tire money into the Salvation Army kettle does not count as a donation.
- When regifting, make sure you know whom the gift originally came from and be sure to send it to someone completely unconnected to the original giver. Otherwise re-gifting may cause re-gret.
- About decorating. In the house, one rule: Your house does not have to shout, “Merry Christmas.” However, if you believe William Blake’s dictum that “the road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom,” do the following. Tear down all existing decor and festoon your house with seasonal trappings everywhere. Let greenery spill from mantels and lights twist and wrap and embrace everything embraceable. Bring on the Santas and snowmen, the carousel horses, the dancing bears, the green grinches, the baby’s first Christmas ball and the school-made paper chains. Forget the notion of colour clash and theme. Display memories. Beautiful old cards, last cards. Whirligigs. And of course, the tree. The tree that is always the best ever. Every year.
- Decorating outdoors. Blow-up Christmas decorations are an abomination. Of these, the worst is the blow-up nativity scene. Whether one is religious or not, there should be a law against having a blow-up nativity beside a Homer Simpson Santa. In fact, a Homer Simpson Santa is an affront to the Santa mythos.
- There is only one good version of A Christmas Carol – the black and white version with Alistair Sim.
- Christmas without snow was tragic as a child. As an adult, it means relief that loved ones will be able to travel safely. Adults should realise that safety and security can trump the pull of the dramatic.
- The worst of times often become the best of times. The times remembered and rehashed time and time again in our family are the year the oven quit on Christmas day and we ended up eating chicken nuggets cooked on the stove top instead of turkey and yes, it was the year dear family friends were over visiting from England.
- You can’t make someone like Christmas cake. It is genetic. Ditto Christmas pudding.
- No matter your religious affiliation, or not, only a heart of stone could not be affected by the great Christmas carols – Joy to the World, Good King Wenceslas, Silent Night, and my favourite, Once in Royal David’s City. These are the cathedrals of Christmas music. A corollary to this: None of these should be allowed to be played in the temples of commerce. There songs such as Let It Snow, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Jingle Bells, and possibly “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” bring seasonal cheer.
- The question of where Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer should be played is a good one. With its at least six degrees of separation from the original Christmas impetus, perhaps it should best be played outdoors to accompany the nightly rising of the inflatables in those who choose such a manner to celebrate the season.
This was delightful. I will be reading more of your writings when I get some time. I apologize for using this venue to get in touch, Ms. Horton.
At the moment I am part of a committee that is organizing the 50 year class reunion for the East Elgin Secondary School Class of ’73. We have a number of the teaching staff who are interested in attending and would love to have you join us. If you are interested, please send me your email address as we are compiling a list of classmates and teachers who will receive the registration information, etc. via email. It seems impossible that half a century has passed since we darkened the doors of EESS and it will be wonderful to see all the “old” faces again.
Barbara Wellwood – Warnock