“Well, I wish it could be Christmas every day,
When the kids start singing and the band begins to play,
Oh, I wish it could be Christmas every day.
Let the bells ring out for Christmas.”
From the song, “I wish it could be Christmas every day,” by Roy Wood
In Alaska, there is a town called “North Pole”. The town leaders have tried to market the town as a tourist destination for people who want to meet Santa Claus, and experience the Christmas spirit. So they have Christmas decorations up, Christmas songs playing, and people in Christmas costumes all year round. In a sense, it is Christmas Day every day in the town. It is a kind of Christmasland.
I read about North Pole, Alaska, in an article written by Jon Ronson. He is a British journalist who travelled to the town a number of years ago. He wanted to investigate a disturbing crime in the small town. A group of 13 year-old children had planned to bring guns to school and murder many of their classmates and teachers. They were overheard discussing their plans, and the police arrived before they could do any harm.
Jon Ronson wanted to investigate whether there was any connection between this attempted mass-murder and growing up in a town where it is always Christmas. He wondered whether the strangeness of growing up in that environment might have driven the kids a little crazy.
Is it unhealthy to be on holiday every day? Is it unhealthy to be jolly every day? Would it be better for a child to grow up in Pumpkintown than Christmasland? It might be easier to pretend to be made scared by Halloween than it is to be made happy by Christmas.
What would be the best holiday/festival town to grow up in? It was Setsubun recently – the Japanese festival in which people throw beans at their roof, and shout, “Demons out! Good luck in!” I could probably do that every day without too much mental damage. My three year-old son came back from his nursery on the day of Setsubun, and started making up his own variations to the traditional shout. “Dinosaurs and ghosts out! Mummy and Daddy in!” I could also listen to that shout every day. But I am sure he will change his mind quickly, and perhaps that is for the best.
Vocabulary:
decorations – ornaments, hangings etc. designed to make a room or area look nice
an article – an essay; a short piece of writing on a theme
disturbing – causing anxiety; worrying
to be overheard – to be accidentally heard by another person or party
jolly–in good spirits; happy and cheerful
a variation–a change or slight difference
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