The Evolution of Ebenezer Scrooge

It’s about to be Christmas and I am buzzing with excitement. The holidays bring out the best in me with my liver going for a personal best every time.

Christmas time is a special season and when I was growing up the Sales House advert which tried to capture the ideal of Christmas in Africa seemed pretty accurate. Everyone dressed to the nines; one or two roosters giving the ultimate sacrifice; the Christmas buses packed to the rafters, and the word ‘bonus’ softening even Ebenezer Scrooge’s heart and opening his wallet.

As a child Christmas was about new clothes, walking around the neighborhood and stuffing one’s face, and if you were lucky there were fire crackers going off left, right and centre. Like all children from our generation TV played an important role in my upbringing. So it was inevitable that my definition and experience of Christmas was going to clash with the whole western version of Christmas i.e. no snow, no reindeers, no overweight white old man with a penchant for chimneys and breaking and entry. Despite my reservations I still believed in Christmas and wondered if it would ever snow here and how Father Christmas would deal with the heat in that outfit.

As I got older and more mature (which doesn’t always follow) I found Jesus in Christmas and the spiritual side of Christmas became significant. Sadly age came with knowledge and I soon found out that Jesus wasn’t even born in December and the picture of Christmas the world was selling was distorted to say the least. Actually, it would seem Christmas as a whole was a machination of capitalism and creative marketing divisions the world over. It wasn’t steeped in fact or tradition. This loss of faith and general distrust of the whole season carried on into my early twenties where I found the joy of the holidays being with family and celebrating extensively whilst improving Delta Beverages’ sales. I would spare some time to celebrate the birth of the Saviour of Mankind without focusing on the inaccuracies shoved down our throats by the media. At the back of my mind and in my heart I liked the Father Christmas/Santa Clause thing and figured it was tribute to a Saint and the fables that came with it had to be indulged or, at worst, tolerated. Sadly my holiday fervor came crashing down when I discovered that Father Christmas, or at least his famous image was a creation of Coca-Cola. Well, sort of. Santa Clause as we see him is based on a famous saint whose generosity and benevolence was renowned, but over the years his character has evolved with his most significant make over being in the 1920’s when Don Draper in a bid to improve the sale of Coca-Cola during winter used Father Christmas to promote Coca-Cola. Through the extensive campaigns and the evident success of Coca-Cola their depiction of Santa has become the most accepted and recognized. As for the colours, they say it’s mere coincidence and nothing else. I wonder if that’s true.

So as I look forward to the holidays I don’t doubt their worth and importance. I just wonder if capitalism and all its trappings have not hijacked an important time, and if they have, how do we as a people not lose its essence and value to mankind’s growth? So as you revel in all that is Christmas and trip over tradition you don’t understand, pause for a moment to find what Christmas means to you and make it count.

See all you single ladies under the mistletoe! That’s if I can find any – hope the fake stuff counts!

An EPL Christmas Carol

The EPL with all its intrigue and suspense has fans begging for more, and during the Christmas period it’s as if the powers that be want to test the theory of whether “there is such a thing as too much of a good thing”.

The English Premier League is one of the few leagues in the world that do not go on any sort of break during the Christmas holiday period. In fact during the festive season a team will play up to 4 games in a space of 12 days.

A season can go up in flames during this period and the big teams use their main squads to take advantage of this flurry of games. At this point the Red Devils go into this period with a 6-point lead and a history behind them. Their wise and cunning leader, Sir Alex Ferguson, has over the years perfected his run for the championship by ensuring his team will do well during the frenetic schedule. The question this season is: will his fragile defense withstand the onslaught and will his ageing squad have enough cover to build an even bigger gap at the top before the transfer window opens in January and the rivals use money to cure their short comings?

The noisy neighbors are in second place with 6 points of the pace having been handed their first defeat of the season by Scumester United. The Citizens have a big enough squad to cope with the challenges of the hectic Christmas schedule, and hopefully their defeat will spur them on to utilize their resources fully and make a strong bid for the title. Having been knocked out of the Champions League they can now focus on retaining the league and justify their backer’s more than generous support.

But as we go to Christmas all eyes have been on Stamford Bridge. The sacking of Roberto Di Matteo at such a crucial time and the appointment of Rafa Benitez reminds us history students of another Russian Revolution. Ambromovich and his fans are, not for the first time, at loggerheads, with the owner pulling rank much to the fans’ chagrin. Christmas will test Chelsea and either forge them into a strong contender or push them further into chaos rivaling S^t Peters square in the early 20^th century. I for one will be watching the plot unfold with interest, wishing Benitez and Torres more luck than Trotsky and Co.

The rest of the league is divided into teams fighting for the one Champions League spot left and those fighting to avoid relegation. Arsenal seem to lack ambition and depth; the holiday could send them into the chaos that had fans baying for Arsene Wenger’s blood last season. Liverpool are finally on the 1^st page of the log and if they can hold it together up until January to buy a striker that 4^th Champions League spot is within reach, and dare I say it a late charge at the leaders on the final stretch will have the faithful shouting “YNWA”. Tottenham and Everton are in the mix trying to mess up everyone’s plans but something tells me they lack the depth to keep up and, come February, AVB’s days in the EPL will come to an abrupt end and Fellani will do a Delilah or at least a good barber and the blue side of Liverpool will have to assume their usual position of “we’re glad we made it” and “we wish we were red”.

At the bottom QPR’s flirtation with the big time looks like as with all such relationships it is about to come to a sad and painful end. In a bid to rescue themselves they have engaged the services of Harry Houdini Redknapp. Can someone remind me how the great Houdini died by the way?

So as I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a fantastic New Year, I will hog the remote and feast on the world’s greatest League, wondering if Father Christmas supports Manchester United, Arsenal or Liverpool or is it just that he loves Coca-Cola?