Why I prefer Christmas Eve to Christmas Day

[Paul K]

Well, not me, but poet Ian McMillan. He pops up from time to time on the BBC and is one of Mark Radcliffe's occasional guests in the afternoon on BBC 6 Music. This is a lovely piece of writing, both nostalgic and poignant.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/stories-42426094

I remember the Christmas of 1968 very well, as it was our first one back in the UK after coming home from Australia, and we spent it with my grandparents in Ripley, Derbyshire. In order to follow the progress of Apollo 8, we took our huge old television with us, as they only had a radio. I remember the BBC updating us on the progress of the flight almost between every program. Human eyes were seeing the dark side of the moon for the first time - it was quite incredible. I also remember the drive home to RAF Watton a few days later, through snow so heavy that my dad wondered if we might get stuck in the car overnight!

Ian then talks about Christmas Eve 2001 and his father's final hours, his laboured breathing "the sound of the tide over a shingle beach". Such a perfect metaphor.

Merry Christmas Eve, all.

[Nigel H-J]

How poignant and true in parts that is Paul, I have always prefered the days leading up to Christmas than Christmas itself. It is the anticipation of the event rather than the happening.

Often my mind goes back to the days when I was a child, Christmas to a young mind was always something magical and exciting from the decorations to hanging the stocking over the post at the end of the bed not to mention the prospect of snow falling for Christmas Day. The excitement of waking up (early) to find that Santa had delivered some goodies and placed them in the stocking. Then, when it was really cold, I would walk up to the bedroom window and scrape the ice off from the inside to see whether it had snowed.

My father once told me that it is more exciting to look forward to something than actually getting it...There is some truth in that in.

Merry Christmas to all.

Regards
Nigel.