The spirit of Christmas
Rejoice, Rejoice!! Christmas is finally here. As I have done in the past two Christmases since my father passed away, I will take out his old cassettes and play his favourite Christmas carols.
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Classic Christmas albums of an era gone by. Think Jim Reeves ‘Twelve songs of Christmas’; Nat King Cole’s ‘Chestnuts roasting on an open fire’ and Bing Crosby’s ‘Have yourself a merry little Christmas’.
There will be a few tears as nostalgic knocks at my door but there will also be smiles at the wonderful memories that brings back the spirit of Christmas – season of love, joy, faith and goodwill to all men.
There are two Christmases that will always be memorable to me. The first is Christmas 2007 and the second is Christmas 2010 because they are the last time I spent with my mother and then my father respectively.
On each visit, after being away for a little over a year, I had a whole new appreciation of being able to spend Christmas with them. As you can imagine, as special as Christmas has always been to me, it has become even more so.
Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol, is a classic Christmas story that comes to mind as I think of Christmas past, Christmas present and Christmas future.
The protagonist of the novel is a mean spirited miserly old man, Ebenezer Scrooge. Very briefly, Scrooge was a financier who holds anything other than money in contempt, including love, friendship and the spirit of Christmas.
His passionate dislike for Christmas and the general revelry of the season, is characterised by his famous line 'Bah, Humbug!' However, on Christmas Eve, he had an encounter with three spirits, the ghost of Christmas Past, the ghost Of Christmas Present and the ghost Of Christmas Future.
He wakes up on Christmas day a changed man. He becomes a generous and kind hearted person who embodies the spirit of Christmas in his life. He sets about helping the poor and celebrating Christmas.
As Christmas approaches, you will have to decide what kind of Ebenezer Scrooge you want to be. The selfish one who shouts “Bah, humbug!” and ignores the cries of those in need or the repentant one who thinks of others and shares a meal with a thankful Tiny Tim who shouts “God Bless Us Everyone!”
The writer is the author of The Seduction of Food
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