The International Writers Magazine: Christmas 2019 - A forgotten holiday

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I remember Christmas • Jenny Atkins Christmas used to be an over-commercialised holiday and a time for family, but change is inevitable, and now I would give anything to return to a time when it really meant something.

A Holy Couple

Gone are the days when families gathered to open their gifts together and enjoy a festive feast of Roast Turkey with all the trimmings. Now, nobody sends Christmas cards, chocolate coins, or candy canes to their loved ones. Those traditions can only be seen in the movies, on a web page somewhere that somebody forgot to delete, or, most commonly, chronicled in a piece of writing much like this one.

The year is 2019, and Christmas is just three weeks away. Fifteen years ago it was my favourite time of year, and on this day I would have been preparing to get underway with irritating everyone with my festive cheer, so much so that they would actually want to cancel Christmas. Even then, the 25th of December had lost most of its religious connotations, and was just an excuse to exchange gifts and have a few days off work, but there were still a few traditionalists and hopeless romantics who adored the celebrations.

I was one of the people always invoked by the spirit of Christmas; there was not an ounce of Scrooge in me, and I was proud of it. An advent calendar was always top of my shopping list the week before the 1st of December. Selecting and decorating a Christmas tree (usually the short, fat one that nobody else would want) was my favourite activity. Christmas tunes would replace the angst-ridden rock music that usually blared out of my stereo as soon as I could do it without making other people physically sick. Wrapping gifts took up the time I usually spent sitting in front of the TV.

Three weeks from now, I’ll be the only person I know who will even realise that Christmas day has arrived. The birthday of Jesus has become much like the birthdays of you and I; the more the years go by, the more it goes unnoticed. Nativity plays used to educate children in how this day, filled with gifts and games originated, now they are a thing of the past. Ask the average child who Mary and Joseph are, and they’ll probably refer you to some of their school friends. Whistle the tune of a carol to children and you’ll get no response; they’d be more likely to know all the words to the National Anthem.

This December 25th I’ll be going to work, as per usual. There will be a two-minute silence at midday, but most people presume it’s so they can send a sneaky text-message to their latest conquest. I’m not sure I believe in the biblical story of Christmas, but I know I will spend those moments thinking about how much everyone in my life means to me. That’s what Christmas was and is about for me; love. If you don’t let people know you care about them, or take a romantic leap of faith from time to time, then what is the point in calling yourself human? Humans live, breathe, and experience life, in a world that early man couldn’t even have imagined, and Christmas used to be a time for people to remember that. I just hope those feelings don’t cease to exist as well as Christmas Day, and this year, my Christmas wish is that these thoughts of mine are shared with world, and everyone recalls the true meaning of Christmas, at least for a two minutes.
© Jenny Atkins December 204

Jenny Atkins is a Creative Arts student at Portsmouth University


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