Submitted by daniel ronald bogogolela
i grew up to a fairytale called father christmas. i just took anything that my parents told me without, you know, dissecting it(doing my own research. my brothers (older and younger), were just as blind to finding the truth like i was. we would be glad when the festive season approached. Guy Fawkes was like an alarm to us. on the fifth of every November, we would dress in adults clothes, smear ourselves with earth and ash from the rubbish dumps and; walk the streets dancing awkwardly, because our elders clothes, were heavy on our tiny body-frames.
we chanted; to merry, merry; to merrah, merrah.
passersbys and; the yards and the stalls we invaded, gave us money (people threw coins inside oursmall, collections, tins). when it was getting dark we’d rush to our various homes and; count our earnings.
three weeks on, the schools would be closed so would water-taps for most of township kids. days before christmas, buses and taxis to town would be full to the brim. reason being, our parents had been paid yearly bonuses by their bosses. we would enter almost every shop, street by street and; end our journey at a take-away restaurant.
we dressed for christmas. on arrival home we would check if clothes match the occasion (christmas) so that, we could go back to the store the following day and change them. during the christmas morning, our granny would be the first to wake us up to come and watch what she had christened; the dancing sun. we would still be shocked by the shocking event when our mother steals us from her clutches to the living room–to witness what the father christmas has left for us.
toys (matchbox vehicles or trucks). we would celebrate and thank our lucky stars. during the day we would walk house to house, showing off our latest clothes and accessories. later we would visit the have-nots and share food and sweets with them– all in the spirit of christmas. then, refusing to wash the dishes in the evening when is our elders turn to party. merry christmas!
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