Christmas every day?
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
So let the bells ring out for Christmas.
When it was originally released in 1973, ‘I wish it could be Christmas every day’ stormed to the top of the charts. It has been a perennial favourite ever since. Written and performed by Wizard’s lead singer Roy Wood, the song is resurrected annually and repeated endlessly in the lead-up to Christmas. It has been voted the nation’s most popular Christmas song.
In spite of the catchy tune and the memorable lyrics, it is hard to imagine that any of us actually agree with Roy Wood! For some the stress associated with Christmas – decorating the home, shopping for presents, over-excited kids, and cooking the Christmas dinner – means they’re glad to see the back of it. Who on earth would want to celebrate Christmas every day?
Well, Andy Park – a milkman turned electrician from Wiltshire – has done just that for the last twelve and a half years. During that time this festive fanatic has consumed 4478 turkeys, 26,280 roast potatoes, 30,660 stuffing balls, 109,500 sprouts, 87,600 mince pies and 4478 Christmas puddings!
He begins each day at 7.45am with a four-mince-pie breakfast followed by a present opening session. ‘I buy all my own presents’, Andy confesses, ‘so I can give myself exactly what I want’.
Crackers
He gets through 40 crackers a day. His favourite cracker joke? ‘A man walks into a bar and says “Ouch”; it always makes me laugh’ he says. Each Christmas he records the Queen’s speech and watches it every day for the rest of the year at exactly 3.00pm.
He estimates that celebrating Christmas every day has cost him £250,000 in decorations, food, presents and party poppers. His wife divorced him some years ago and his only daughter, Caz, no longer speaks to him about his obsession. Sad to say, Roy Wood’s wish for ‘Christmas every day’ has its drawbacks, even for those eccentric enough to try it.
But is Christmas really about tinsel and toys, sprouts and surprises, presents and parties? Does it not mean more than that? Is it not a time to celebrate the coming of Jesus into the world?
Why Christ came
Yes, it is a time to remember that the Son of God clothed himself in our humanity to die on a cross at Calvary – a Man bearing the sins of men. He did so that all who trust him for salvation might escape the judgement they deserve – and he rose again from the dead to prove that his mission was accomplished.
Rather than concentrating on the festivities should we not reflect more on the love that motivated Jesus Christ to come among us, and seek to understand what his coming can mean to us personally?
If we really grasped the significance of these things, the wonder of Christmas would indeed be with us every day.
Steven Curry