Christmas
Hi There
It's Christmas... once again. I don't know what you think, but to me the whole Christmas thing has changed somehow. I don't know if it is the commercialism around it or the fact that I don't get prepared for it anymore.
I guess everyone relates Christmad to childhood memories. The belief in santa clause (or in 'Christkind' in Switzerland) who brings presents is just wonderful. As a child you don't see the business, the stress and the dark side of Christmas. Dark side might be a hard expression, but when I passed a train station this morning I saw two homeless men and I had to think of all the people who spend their
Christmas lonely waiting for a better day. Even though Christmas is a wonderful and magical festival, it is even worse for those people who have to celebrate it lonely. As a child you don't think about that. I remember all the special Christmas lessons we had in primary school, singing Christmas carrols, baking cookies, listening to Christmas tales, drawing Christmas paintings, making presents for our parents and so on. I also remember when we went to see Santa Clause in the forest - we were all scared!! Isn't it wonderful to see the world through a child's eyes? As my brother and I were scared of Santa Clause, we tried to ice up our stairs outside, so that he would slip and fall - sorry, Santa, in case you're reading my blog!!
I remember when my brother and I found out that Santa Clause would not exist. It was weird and sad somehow. When I recently met some primary school students and asked them about Santa, I saw the excited (and a little bit frightened) look on their face - that's the spirit of Christmas! Even though this belief and the emotions around it have changed, I'm sure that the spirit must be saved inside somewhere.
When I was a child I've always dreamt of crossing the EuroTunnel between France and England. On my mind I had this picture of a train on the seabed and through the windows one could see fish. On my tour in 2011, I used the EuroStar from London to Bruxelles, we entered the tunnel and all wr could see was ... darkness. Of course, I didn't believe my childish belief, nevertheless, I was disappointed. However, I know the truth now and yet I have the childish image on my mind when thinking of the EuroTunnel, for it is more magical, more beautiful. I often tell this story during my shows and the audience always smiles - mostly because they all have their own magical image on their minds. So why do we destroy all the magic? The commercialism might destroy the superficial magic, but deep inside, the child in your soul will still appreciate the real magic of Christmas!
On that note, I wish you all a wonderful, magical Christmas with the ones you love!
Cheers,
Gion