Not long 'til Christmas!

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‘tis the season to be jolly

Twinkling trees and wreathes of holly

Kids write notes to Santa Claus

Carol singers knock on doors.

In the next few days I’ll be getting my decorations out of the cupboard and scattering them around my apartment in readiness for the Christmas holidays. I’ll be wrapping gifts and placing them below my tree whilst singing along to seasonal songs and carols.

But how things have changed. Christmas as we know it today started in the Victorian era of the early 1800s. Father Christmas made his first appearance as did the festive feast although it was to be some years before turkey appeared on the dinner table. The giving of gifts and pulling of crackers, singing around the piano and kissing under the mistletoe.

Today Christmas comes early. For a couple of months now, our shops have been bursting at the seams with cards and affordable presents. For several weeks the streets of our towns and villages have been lined with lights and our shopping malls have echoed with the sound of seasonal music.

As I was sorting out my decorations my mind went back to my childhood. I remember going to bed on Christmas Eve leaving the rooms below looking exactly as they did on any other day of the year. I remember waking early in the morning to find a stocking full of goodies on the end of my bed which Santa Claus had dropped in while I was asleep. After unwrapping pencils and yoyos and tipping out oranges and nuts it was time to go downstairs for breakfast, and then return to my room to put on my best clothes.

Only then were we allowed to enter the living room which during the night had been transformed into an Aladdin’s cave criss-crossed with brightly coloured garlands, and massive paper bells. A tree which reached the ceiling laden with baubles and glistening little lights, stood guard over a pile of presents and a glowing fire which crackled and hissed in the grate below.

It was better back then. At least, I think so. Today, so much goes into preparation that the day itself is something of an anti climax. By the time the day arrives the tree is dropping its needles and you’ve heard more than enough of Christmas music.

So why am I writing this now? Why has my blog taken on a Christmassy look so soon? Why am I already decorating my home? After all there are still another nine days to go.

I don’t really know!

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