A Christmas Carol In Our Life

Charles Dickens wrote one of the most celebrated stories of the holiday season. Who doesn't know 'A Christmas Carol'? You must have seen more than one version of the long night of the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge on Christmas Eve: in animation for television, and in format for the big screen, with renowned actors from dramatic to comedic.

In this sense, I think that the work leaves an edifying message in those of us who have enjoyed it repeatedly, it has that timeless touch, as it exposes, through the fantastic and supernatural, a way and attitude to assume the life of the present.

Today, I wonder if my grandchildren and those who come after them will read this Christmas classic, or will see any audiovisual version in the future. I suppose this will depend on our work as guarantors of traditions, in a world where the values Dickens defended are obscured behind vanity and the extra that abound on social media.

Like Ebenezer, I remember with joy the Christmases of my youth, when I believed in the Child Jesus, and now I long for those I loved and who have passed away with the inevitable passage of time.

I can still feel the excitement of when wrapped in hammocks, at my grandmother's house, my sisters and I struggled against sleep to discover the Child Jesus depositing the toys under us. Of course, after tasting the cooked vegetable salads, the ham bread, Panetone, hallacas (stuffed buns with mixed stews of beef, chicken, and pork), and delicious cornstarch custards that the grandmothers prepared. In addition to playing with the multicolored fireworks, you will understand, that we feel exhausted without discovering the truth behind the fantastic event until a joyful awakening to play with dreams come true.

A tradition that we followed later when we had children. Seeing the joy of the children (now adults) illuminated our hearts, until, like us, they discovered the hoax: a disappointment that marked the loss of innocence. Now I question it, and I wonder, is it worth keeping a tradition based on a lie? I don't know if for good. Technological advancement and new global trends are undermining them.

I confess to you that last Christmas was very difficult for us. On the one hand, the anguish of powerlessness before the hospitalization of my mother, in a distant country, who contracted COVID-19 after a chemotherapy session. By providence, she overcame the crisis. I am glad to know that she will celebrate this Christmas with my sister. On the other hand, the sudden illness of my mother-in-law, in the middle of Christmas made us go from hospital to hospital in search of assistance. Although she survived the New Year, which we are about to say goodbye to, she suffered and resisted until spring, when she passed away, one day after being diagnosed with a brain tumor.

So, as you can imagine, this Christmas will be somewhat empty and different, bittersweet in our home, not to mention who she was, the center of the family gathering, where we were busy preparing traditional dishes and drinks of the time, to cheer our hearts no matter the adverse circumstances. I will miss the warmth of her love, and the tender glow of her blue eyes.

I have hope that future Christmases will be better, in the renewal of the cycles of generations. I hope to have the opportunity to be able to amend my bad behavior, just as Mr. Scrooge did when he was allowed to change. Build my own Christmas from today as best I can, seeking goodness within myself to achieve brotherhood among men and women of goodwill.

I wish you a Merry Christmas, and that you create... your own Christmas story.