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December 2019 | REDONLINE.CO.UKChristmas...
Rosie Green
is preparing
for her first
Christmas after
the end of her
marriage. But,with her typical
humour,
optimism and
honesty, she’s
almost looking
forward to itO
ne day. Christmas is one day. So why does it hold such
seismic importance? Because who we are with and what
we are doing for that 24-hour time period has somehow
come to symbolise to the world, and to ourselves, who
we are, our values, our hopes, our achievements, our
desires. Who loves us. And who we love.
My editor asked me to write about my first Christmas
as a family of three. Last year’s was pretty shitty in one
way (my husband told me our marriage was over on
22nd December). But amazing in another (my cousin and his family took us in and
showed us how much we were loved). So this Christmas it’s going to be different.
And I want to make it different good, not different bad.
I think Christmas Day is a bit like your wedding day. You want it to be a day of
unabashed celebration and joy, but tradition can make it rigid in a way that often
feels constricting. Turkey, gravy, brandy sauce. Present opening at 11am, lunch at
1pm, walk at 3pm, leftovers at 5pm.
For my wedding, I wanted to wear a party dress and have flowers in jam jars
and fondant fancies as the cake and be in the open air, but tradition means suddenly
you end up with a top table and morning suits and a marquee because it might rain.
Don’t get me wrong, I loved my wedding, but there’s a certain amount of bowing
to the practicalities. And so it is with Christmas.
Why do you feel obligated to wear a paper hat? To stuff yourself silly with leaden
puddings? To spend four hours in the kitchen on a meal that’s eaten in 30 minutes?
Truth is, we’ve had 25 Christmas dinners by mid-December (work do, school friends,
university friends, home friends, local friends, etc) so maybe we don’t need another one?
So should we, as a family, do something different? Maybe. But then will it feel ‘less than’?minus one