WHERE has time gone? Silly question, eeh? Time is time — at least it used to be. As children, we could hardly wait for Santa Claus and all that jazz. Now, one day overtook another and that’s all there is to it. People talk about everything everywhere. How have we come so quickly to the end of the year without thinking about it? One day has run into another before you can “quint”.

In a matter of hours, Christmas Day will definitely be here. We didn’t even have to wait. The traditional state of anticipation has caught up with us. We force-ripen Christmas, commanding it to make its appearance without delay. The advertisers jumped the gun, persuading us to go out and buy as soon as the first Christmas light was turned on. In the supermarket the other night, a sense of numbness attacked. They were welcoming the new year singing about “auld acquaintance be forgot”, without even waiting for the season to officially begin.

Despite the unseemly haste, Christmas is here, even if the offensive “Happy Holidays” has pushed itself to the head of the line, capturing a greeting card moment. I know people who absolutely hate it. Those who are still trying to preserve the religious purity of the season have no time for the “Happy Holidays” line. Happily, there are still Christmas-ites (like socialites).

So many other things have changed. Reflect on the introduction of online shopping. Since when do shoppers want to miss the excitement of a crowded store atmosphere? That is what some people see as shopping? Is that the cause of “Black Friday” coming to our shores? The most recent assault on the way of indulging in Christmas shopping must be credited to the American habit of indulgence; heading out immediately after the turkey has been consumed. Despite the fact that we here owe no allegiance to turkey, or any other bird except the ever-faithful chicken, we’ve taken to adding gobblers to the festive menu… another latter-day Christmas symbol sweeping across the globe.

Quibble if we must about the march of time in the Yuletide season, but what would merchants do if they could not sell? “Angels we have heard on high; tell them to go out and buy,” sings a satirist.

Santa’s place

One custom which needs protection is the man Santa Claus himself. There was a time when a Santa Claus parade was a popular feature in downtown Kingston. A parade would glide down King Street, announcing the arrival of Mr Claus himself until the year when he had to dodge the enthusiastic response of a group of mothers, it is reported, who made a grab for the bag of goodies which Claus was to have delivered to the children.

The sponsors immediately took the decision to put their money into something else. They haven’t ventured out since then. Poor Santa and his reindeer had to beat a hasty retreat. There was no climbing down the chimney, an aberration, if ever there was one. Who needs chimneys on top of houses in a tropical climate? In days long past, when we were ever-so-British, we had to pay homage to snow, ice, reindeer, and all that jazz. Nobody felt stupid, sweltering in front of a fireplace. (Can’t imagine why not.) No reindeer either, although it is said deer have taken up residence in wooded areas of Portland.

In the few days left between today and the not-too-far tomorrow, we will still get on with domestic excitement. The only thing which would give Santa a little reminder of his days in the snow would be to get as much “shave ice” as he could muster to delude that it was the real thing.

Since nobody was going to fall down the chimney or reindeers eat up the Christmas dinner salad, why worry? Good Christian folk still feel justified in contemplating the importance of a festival of “peace on earth and goodwill” to all who understand the true meaning of a season such as this. “O come, let us adore Him.”

PS: Will the West Kingston enquiry be still going on? I asked a legal luminary, “Do you really believe it could go on for three years?” The response was, “Yes, it could. If all the people who have requested to testify were granted their desire, then there could be a very long event ahead.”

Next question: Could the treasury hold out, so long? There are not only the day-to-day costs for legal representation, etc, but the possibility of having to pay hefty compensation for damage to people and property, if that comes to pass. Wow! This ain’t no cheap event.

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