An old Christmas card…

When I was small, like any other child, I would look forward to Christmas as I would be getting new clothes and lots of presents. We had artificial Christmas trees with branches that looked like toilet brushes, or to be more precise, those brushes that people use to clean the inside of their baby’s milk bottles and one thing that I used to do was to stick the cards on the walls to create the shape of a Christmas tree.

Every year, around this time, I would be sending out the cards to relatives and friends, far and near because come December, I would be too busy marking the public examination English Language papers to do that. If, for some reason, I was unable to do so, then everyone would not be getting any for that particular year. I think I heard somebody saying once that whenever they got  a Christmas card in November, they knew it had to be mine.

Sadly though, Christmas cards have gone out of style or so it seems. I would send out a lot but each year, I would probably get less than 10 in return – hardly enough to make a decent-looking tree. Everybody prefers to send their season’s greetings via sms, so much so that the networks would be jammed all through the night on Christmas Eve till Christmas morning.

I don’t know if there are others like me but I would just delete those messages once I have read them but I would cherish nice Christmas cards that have been carefully chosen, with beautiful wordings that reflect the affection and sincerity of the ones who have sent them. Somehow I feel that it is very much more meaningful like this.

And talking about that brings to mind one of my favourite Christmas songs by Jim Reeves. The lyrics go like this:

There’s an Old Christmas Card in an old dusty trunk
And it brings back sweet memories dear to me
‘Though it’s faded and worn, it’s as precious as the morn
When I found it ‘neath our first Christmas tree

Chorus:
I thrill with every word, every line
Guess I’m always sentimental ’round this time
Pardon me if a tear falls among my Christmas cheer
It’s the memory of an Old Christmas Card

(Recitation)
You know, I don’t know why I get to feeling sentimental
about this time, every year
But every time I see a Christmas card,
I somehow can’t help reminiscing
About the very first Christmas that you and I spent together
What a beautiful Christmas card you gave me that year
Why I know you must have looked through thousands of cards
To find that wonderful poem that still brings a tear to my eyes

My sentiments exactly! Well, you can click on this link to listen to the song if you have never heard it before…and have you bought your Christmas cards yet?