The big fat old man in red!

As a kid, the month of December was all about Christmas, the carols and the anticipation of what new gift was the big old man in red going to bring in this year! Hunting for my favourite pair of socks (no stockings for me), hanging it by the window (no Christmas tree at home either), and waiting, desperately trying to keep my eyes open to see if I could spot Santa’s sleigh as it went past my window, after dropping my gift into the sock. But of course, I almost always fell asleep and missed the exact moment when my dad hid my present in my sock. This continued for many years, years when I refused to be ridiculed by cousins and peers who, in their misplaced wisdom, tried to convince me that there in fact, was no such angel as Santa! As years went by, the gifts began to get smaller, until there finally came a year when there was no gift in my sock one fine Christmas morning. I still want to believe that it was solely because my dad didn’t find time to get me a gift, rather than thinking that he finally thought it was time I outgrew the “I believe in Santa” phase!

As years go by, hardly anything seems to have changed. I still get excited about Christmas, hum my favourite Christmas carols, and yes, I still hang my favourite sock by the window. The only thing that seems to have changed, is that the sock remains empty… or does it? My sock is full of ribbons of good wishes, parcels of happy thoughts, and large boxes of never ending hope! Good wishes for all, happy thoughts to take us through another year and hope that this will be a better year! My sock isn’t empty… it is fuller than it used to be! Kiddish? Maybe… but what’s wrong with that??

I don’t have any smart sign-off on this post… but just a thought. In today’s world where practicality is replacing emotions, where money is replacing relationships, where peace is a distant memory, we all need to believe that someone, somewhere will change this. In a world where competition kills, where sarcasm and attitude rock, where we have all the luxuries we need, but no time to enjoy it, where apathy is replacing sympathy and support, I like to believe that going back to being kids, where life seemed so simple, isn’t such a bad idea. For at least then we will all be at our best behaviours all year round, for the better we are, the bigger present awaits us from Santa!

For all those who are still with me on this post… check out the link below and sing, Jingle Bells!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H21bOeI5IKE

Merry Christmas… and Happy Holidays Everyone!!