A Christmas Story: The Legend of a Christmas Idol
William Overly was a very wealthy man. He was plump and jolly looking, with his white hair and beard. A pipe almost always hung from his mouth, and he always seemed to have a smile on his face. William moved to Lauderdale in the summer, and now it was nearing Christmas time, his favourite time of the year. William decorated his house in very vibrant Christmas decorations, in shimmering colours like white, red, and green. At night, his house was the brightest in the town. Actually, his house was the only one decorated. William was surprised. The next morning, William asked his neighbour why the houses weren't decorated. The man replied, his breath coming out in billowy white clouds, “We don’t celebrate Christmas anymore. The spirit’s just kind of… Vanished.” The man waved goodbye before turning back up his driveway and disappearing into his house.
William was confused. How could the spirit of a holiday just be gone? William shook his head, confused and disappointed, and turned back into his house. How could he enjoy his favourite holiday, when the spirit had left this little town?
His worries weighed him down as he sat in his favourite easy chair. He put a pipe in his mouth, puffed a couple of times, and watched the fir in the fireplace. The flames danced across his face, making the creases in his face much darker and more vivid. He scratched his beard and put down his pipe before leaning back in his chair and shutting his eyes.
William had fallen into a deep sleep, and woke into a dream. He was walking down the street, dressed in his favourite winter clothes. He could hear the crunching of snow and could feel the cold flakes as they fell from the sky, muffling the sounds of everything else. Even from a distance, he could hear Christmas carols coming out of all the houses, and he could smell the Christmas baking and cooking. Smiling to himself, he thought this is what it should be like at Christmas.
His eyes flew open as he was pushing his easy chair back into its regular position. That’s what he had to do! He threw off the blanked he had on and jumped out of his chair. He ran to the door, only stopping for his shoes, a coat, and his keys. When he locked the front door, he raced to his truck, started it and drove down to the General Store. He bounced out of his truck and sped to the door, throwing it open. The resounding ding from the bell echoes through the empty store as William strolled up to the cashier and asked, “Where do you keep the decorations for Christmas?”
“’M sorry, we don’t got no Christmas decorations ‘round here no more. We don’t celebrate that there holiday. ‘M sorry, sir,” the man replied in a gruff tone. William sighed, said goodbye, and walked out of the store. He sat in his truck, disappointed. Then an idea hit him. It was only 200 kilometres to Higherton! He knew they had decorations there. William started up his truck, new energy coursing through him, and drove to Higherton.
William got there late at night, so he got a suite at the local hotel, and spent the night. He found it hard to sleep, however, because he was too excited about his plan. Finally, he got to sleep, and woke up the next morning refreshed. He checked out of his room, and got back into his truck. He drove to a department store and bought almost all the decorations he could find. When he had enough to fill his truck, he drove home.
That night, he spread all his purchases across the floor in one of his spacious rooms. He separated it all into piles for his plan. It was easy to do, because there were only thirty or fourty houses in the town. William, satisfied, went to bed, eager for the next night.
When the town bell chimed eight o’clock, William went to work. It was at night, so it was easy for him to move around without being seen. He wore his red jacket with white trim, red snow pants, so if he fell he wouldn’t get wet, and his red snow hat, so his ears wouldn’t be cold. He had received this outfit from his wife one Christmas, before she passed away. He wore it every Christmas since. William went to every house on Christmas Eve, setting up Christmas lights, front yard sceneries, and putting Christmas trees in the front yard, waiting to be decorated. He brought decorations to each house for trees, and decorations for houses. He put turkeys in front of each house, waiting to be cooked, and ingredients for baking Christmas cookies. When he finished, it was nearing dawn, and he ran back into his house, waiting for his neighbours to wake up.
Keeping himself awake with coffee and excitement, William kept watch until his neighbours started to get up on Christmas day. He watched them open their front doors and stare, surprised at the package waiting for them. They walked out of their houses, in their robes and holding a cup of coffee, and stared at their houses. There were gasps of shock and surprise, then gratitude as they all realized, one by one, that today was Christmas, and someone had decorated their houses for the holiday. William smiled to himself.
Later that day, William walked down the street, in his red outfit, holding his cup of coffee, and listened to the snow crunching under his feet, watching the snow fall, muting all the other sounds, except for the Christmas carols that poured out of every house. As he continued his walk, he could smell the turkeys and the turkeys, and grinned. This was Christmas, and no one would forget it for a long time.
So there you go. I wrote this last year, and I'm not completely satisfied with it, but that's okay. Writing it, I remembered why I wrote it. It's because I love Christmas so much, and I would do what William did if I had that kind of money. So enjoy the holidays, and remember, Christmas isn't about what you get, but who you spend it with and that everyone's happy. It's like Thanksgiving in a way: you're spending time with people who you love. (:
Don't forget to smile (:
-Jenn
