When Christmas was by performance
BACK in the day, Christmas came with responsibility and tensions for children.
The promotional examinations, the elevation to the next class, were in December. The results were out before Christmas.
Your result would complement or compromise your Christmas. Parents rewarded rewarded great performance with clothes, shoes, and other gifts.
Take a look at the Christmas attires we worked hard to get then. Were they worth the troubles?
They were. We were aiming at the moon to hit the stars.
Education was tied to our Christmas gifts. Was the result good, or what we called “weak” or “poor” pass, or “failed”? All had consequences for the type of Christmas the child enjoyed.
More generous parents would still buy Christmas “things” for their children who failed. However, the children’s celebrations remained abbreviated, subdued. They celebrated with the burden of knowing that they will repeat a class. Truth is that some didn’t realise the implications of failing their examinations until January when they were not allowed into the same class with their mates.
The 1973 school calendar change meant that instead of January being the beginning of the school year, September took over.
With the change, the tensions of the promotional examinations in December and the responsibility we had of doing very well in our examinations to have a great Christmas, departed.
Now as adults, Christmas still comes with responsibility, including the need to care for others, mainly the needy, especially in these times that have made more people the needy.
They are among our responsibilities
Merry Christmas.
